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whipped-for-kpop-fics · 3 months

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Session Three; A Lesson Learned? - L.JH ft K.SY

🎙Who; Lee Jihoon & Kwon Soonyoung (Seventeen) x reader 🎙What; smut, fwb, producer/idol Jihoon, idol Soonyoung 🎙Wordcount; 4.9k 🎙Warnings; profanity, threesome, dom jihoon, sub soonyoung, sub reader, over clothing handjob, edging, orgasm denial, oral(m), fingering mentions, voyeurism/exhibitionism, penetrative sex, protected sex, choking, auditory kink I guess?(idk if that's the right term for this), coming untouched(m), no actual m x m.

Summary; "There's something about Soonyoung today that makes you want to play with him. Who cares if it's in Jihoon's studio while Soonyoung is supposed to be recording his lines."

Minors do NOT interact, which means liking/reblogging/commenting on this story. I WILL block any account that interacts without an age indicator in the bio.

-2024 Masterlist- 🎙 In The Studio Masterlist 🎙

Part 3/? of In The Studio; a series of Jihoon fucking in his studio.

You don't mind watching Jihoon work, sometimes it's even pretty interesting but today? Not so much. Time just seems to drag on and on.

Soonyoung is currently in the booth working on his verse for the next Performance Unit song that's due for release in a couple of months. At least being able to watch him work hard in his sleeveless top and shorts gives you some very nice visuals to somewhat entertain yourself through your boredom.

It probably really does not help that before Soonyoung arrived, Jihoon had his hand in your panties doing a very good job of getting you close to a wonderful climax, and then Soonyoung turned up and caused Jihoon to quickly pull his hand to himself before the pair of you could get caught.

So now you're bored and horny from an orgasm being unfairly ripped away from you.

Jihoon notices the way you keep fidgeting both restless and still aroused. Honestly, so is he, but he has his work to focus on so he can ignore the lust simmering lowly in his veins. And he definitely doesn't fail to notice the way your darkened gaze is lingering on Soonyoung.

Something sparks in his lower stomach that reminds him of a vague fantasy he had a few months back when the pair of you had almost got caught fucking in the backseat of your car. The thought of someone opening the door and seeing you two fucking had turned Jihoon on enough that day that he came instantly, and well, it certainly reawakened some rather exhibitionist thoughts of his own.

So really, Jihoon isn't exactly against Soonyoung seeing you two having sex, though he isn't sure how you would feel about that so he keeps it to himself for now and knows he'll probably bring it up at some point in the future.

Yet for now, there's another thought at the forefront of his mind. "Keep staring at him so much and I'll think you want to fuck him," Jihoon murmurs lowly to you, even if Soonyoung most definitely cannot hear the conversation while he's in the recording booth.

You hadn't expected Jihoon to talk and honestly, you had been a little lost in your fantasies about going into that booth and seeing if Soonyoung's dancer stamina carries over into sex, so you jolt a little in surprise before turning your head to look at Jihoon without lifting your chin from your palm, elbow on the desk to keep you propped up. Jihoon's tone hadn't sounded annoyed or negative in any way, just his normal neutral voice but you can't always be sure. Yet looking at him, it's clear he's not particularly angry at the possibility of his own words being true. "Maybe I do," You start, causing Jihoon to slide his gaze from his computer screen and over to you with a slightly raised eyebrow at you essentially confirming his suspicions. "Got a problem with that?"

To your surprise, there's only a second of hesitation where Jihoon genuinely considers your question, and then he shakes his head a little. "No, you can fuck whoever you want."

"Even if I want to work my way through your band?"

Jihoon doesn't hesitate to shrug this time. "So long as you come back to me and don't make shit awkward, yeah, go ahead, have fun."

You watch him get back to his work with excitement fizzling in your chest. He's pretty much just given you a giant green light to fuck his band members and you won't lie, you've most certainly considered more than just Soonyoung in a sexual manner before. Knowing that Jihoon won't care if you do, you're already thinking about ways to seduce each one of them into bed and turn your head back to watch Soonyoung with a whole new level of horny to your gaze.

Twenty minutes of very thorough fantasies later, Jihoon gets up after using the mic to tell Soonyoung he's going to the bathroom meaning it's a break time. Jihoon's gaze meets yours as he gets to his feet, there's something odd in it that you can't quite put your finger on but honestly, you don't have the mental capacity to linger on it. All you can think about is that you know Jihoon will sit and play the mobile game he downloaded recently, in the bathroom for at least ten minutes before returning and getting back to work. You can seduce Soonyoung in ten minutes, you've done a lot more with less time.

Pretty much as soon as the studio door closes securely once Jihoon is out, you're up on your feet and entering the booth.

Soonyoung smiles over at you when he hears the door open, the headphones around his neck as he repeats the line he's been working so hard on. "Oh hey," He greets, looking back at the lyric sheet as you approach and peer around him at the sheet too. "This line is really kicking my ass."

"Mm, you're getting stressed." You confirm with a hum. "You need to relax." You lift your hands to place on his shoulders gently so as to not make him jump and then start to dig your thumbs into the muscle in a massage. Soonyoung lets out a soft breath and melts a little under your touch.

For a few minutes, you work your hands against his muscles, gradually working from his shoulders down his back and Soonyoung lets you, just keeps relaxing further and further under your hands with his eyes closed contently. Up until your left hand skirts over the side of his hip and to his thigh.

Soonyoung's breath catches and his eyes fly open. "W-what're you doing?" He stammers in a whisper, head tilting down to watch the way your hand kneads at the outside of his thigh, slowly edging over to the front.

"Helping you relax, babyboy." You reply so simply like it's so fucking normal to 'massage' a friend's thigh like that.

You're so nonchalant about it that despite his nerves fizzing behind his sternum and gradually mixing with budding arousal, Soonyoung doesn't say or do anything else and lets you continue.

Not that it lasts long when your hand slides around towards his inner thigh and brushes against his very gradually hardening length. Soonyoung lets out a sound that could be an attempt at talking if it isn't just a few vague stammered syllables.

"You okay, baby?" You ask gently and pull your hand back slightly, not wanting to push him too far; though you don't move your hand away entirely, there's at least some breathing room between your still massaging fingers and his cock. Soonyoung makes a hum of confirmation in a higher pitch than his normal voice. "Want me to stop?" You wonder, just in case.

"What about Woozi?" He worries, flitting his eyes over his shoulder to you nervously though they return down to watch your hand.

"You know his routine as much as I do, he's going to sit there playing on his phone for at least ten minutes." You assure and smoothly relocate around him to stand more to his side and give yourself a better view and reach. He looks at you through his lashes shyly and blushes darker than the soft pink flush of arousal on his cheeks as you look down at his crotch and visibly see how he's getting harder with every press of your fingers into his strong thigh muscle.

"How…how long has he been gone?"

You lift your gaze to meet his own still shy one. "Not ten minutes."

Soonyoung stares at you for a moment in careful deliberation before he licks his lips and nods a little. "Okay."

"Okay?"

His features twist a little as your hand falls still and he lifts his head to lock his softly pleading eyes on you. "Don't stop. Please?"

"Okay, baby." It's so easy to agree when he looks at you borderline desperately already. Not that you need much encouragement right now anyway, just consent and he's certainly given that. You don't linger on his thigh anymore and move your hand over to press your palm against his length. Soonyoung whimpers and wraps one hand around your wrist for stability, already feeling so sensitive despite the fact you've done nothing to him yet. You wonder if he's always like this or if he's just pent up and it's been a while since he's felt any touch but his own. You'd really like to find out. "It's okay, I've got you, gonna make you feel good, okay, Soonyoungie?"

"Please," He whispers, swallowing thickly before letting his lips stay parted as you start to move your hand against him.

You're far too invested in the little whines and pants prettily escaping Soonyoung's mouth as you grope and rub at his cock over his shorts, and he's far too caught up in the pleasure you're so easily and skillfully giving him, that neither of you notices Jihoon's return.

Honestly, Jihoon is not entirely surprised to find you in the booth and touching Soonyoung. Part of him had hoped you'd initiate something there, he had tried to tell you to do as much with his eyes when he left earlier. But he knew you hadn't noticed. He's just glad you're horny enough to still do what he wants, even if not directly.

For a minute, Jihoon stands by his desk, arms folded over his chest and watches. Part of him has been wondering for a while if he's into watching. He knows he likes watching you touch yourself, he often has you spread your legs wide with your hand in between while he sits and watches intently with his hand wrapped around his cock. But he wasn't sure if it was just because it's you masturbating with and /for/ him, or if he really is a voyeur.

But now he knows he's definitely a fucking voyeur. He's already half-hard in his shorts and only getting harder the longer he watches.

Jihoon knows he won't be able to keep his calm for much longer so he unfolds his his arms and leans down onto his left palm while the right presses the button on the mic on his desk to pass his voice into the room. The second Jihoon starts to speak, Soonyoung jerks violently and spins to look at the window between the booth and studio with wide, guilty eyes. "You really think you can play like this in my studio without inviting me?" Jihoon drawls darkly.

Soonyoung gulps while arousal sparks brighter in you. You know by his tone alone that Jihoon is turned on and wants to fuck. And when you look at him, it's clear by his expression that he wants to play. At least to you it is because Soonyoung clearly doesn't realise that Jihoon isn't mad.

"Guess I'll have to teach you both a lesson, huh?" Jihoon chuckles and meets your gaze directly. "On your knees, baby." You don't hesitate and lower to your knees with little more than a nod, more than happy to play whatever game Jihoon wants because you know he'll fuck you right when it's time. He always does.

"W-woozi-" Soonyoung stammers out but Jihoon just raises an eyebrow at him, causing him to cut off with a thick swallow.

"If you want to see where this goes, Soonyoung, put the headphones back on and do your lines. If you don't want to play with us, I suggest you leave now." Jihoon warns firmly. Soonyoung holds the younger's eye contact for a moment before he turns his head to look down at you where you're kneeling patiently to get this show on the road.

"You can change your mind during, neither of us will force you to stay if that happens." You assure, putting a comforting hand on Soonyoung's thigh to squeeze gently. He naturally puts his hand over yours to show that he registers the comfort then swallows once more and nods.

Soonyoung's hands are slightly shaky when he turns to the mic and lifts the headphones from around his neck to put back comfortably over his ears. Though he pushes the left one back a little, freeing enough of his ear on your side.

"Baby," Jihoon prompts. When you look at him he nods towards Soonyoung simply then sits down to get back to work without even waiting for your confirmation that you understand.

As you shuffle closer to Soonyoung, he inhales sharply and drops his attention with wide eyes to watch as your hands untie his shorts. His hands are still trembling a little at his sides but he makes no attempt to stop you despite his nerves. It's all very new to him, not sex but this kind of sex especially with someone right there and able to see what's happening. He's not entirely certain he's into it but he's more than willing to try it out, especially as it means he finally gets to know what you look like on your knees for him.

"Here's what's going to happen." Jihoon's voice echoes into the room again making Soonyoung jump a little and glance over at Jihoon but your hands are tugging down Soonyoung's shorts and boxers so his attention quickly returns to you. "You're going to do your lines, Soonyoung, while she sucks your dick."

"W-what?" Soonyoung baulks, looking at Jihoon with wide eyes. "B-but I won't be-" He cuts off with a sharp moan when he suddenly feels wet heat around the very tip of his cock. He looks at you and finds your lips wrapped around his erection, barely any of his hard cock is actually in your mouth but enough that it's already driving him crazy.

"Good girl." Jihoon hums in approval and smirks as he watches Soonyoung struggle to gather himself. Jihoon hadn't known that Soonyoung is that sensitive but it sure is entertaining. "Lines, Soonyoung, you can't cum until you've nailed them."

That makes Soonyoung look over in alarm as soon as the words have fully registered in his mind. "What?!"

"You need to learn your lesson. Mic." Jihoon points to the mic, and then focuses on his computer to play the track, sending it into Soonyoung's headphones.

You decide to be nice and pull off of Soonyoung to give him at least a chance to get his lines right. He gives you a grateful look before facing the mic again, making you shuffle around to be able to still get to him when you deem him ready.

Just when Soonyoung opens his mouth to start his lines at the right point, you lean back in and abruptly slide half of his length into your mouth. A loud moan escapes Soonyoung's open mouth and his legs weaken at the sudden pleasurable touch while his eyes roll back.

Jihoon cuts off the track with a disappointed tut. "Try again," He demands.

That's how it goes for long enough that Soonyoung is a trembling, whimpering mess, hands on your head as he pleads you to just 'let me cum' but you don't. Jihoon hasn't given the go-ahead and honestly, you're enjoying making Soonyoung such a mess with nothing more than your mouth wrapped around him, alternating methods but still never giving him too much. You want to drag it out, need to really in order to give him a chance of getting his lines down. But the longer you're there on your knees, the worse Soonyoung gets.

"Alright, enough." Jihoon sighs when his own arousal is too hard to ignore any longer. He's been fighting the urge to reach into his shorts and jerk himself off for at least ten minutes now. Watching you edge Soonyoung time and time again really does a fucking lot for Jihoon.

"P-please," Soonyoung practically sobs out when you lean back and remove your mouth from his leaking cock. He's practically throbbing he's so desperate to cum. He truly had been so close to an orgasm on multiple occasions yet you had somehow always noticed despite him not even attempting to warn you and pulled away while he sniffled and wailed for you to come back.

"Jihoon says no." You shrug and look over as the door opens and Jihoon steps in. There's a very obvious bulge in his shorts and he doesn't even try to hide it. You really do love it when he's so shameless about his own arousal, it turns you on even more. "Ji," You call, a slight pleading edge to your voice as he gets closer to you.

"I know, baby," He coos softly and cups your jaw with one hand, letting his thumb pull on your bottom lip a little. "You've been a good girl, huh, on your knees for so long for a man who can't even control his orgasm enough to get one thing done, hm?" You pout a little, playing on it as much as your partner while Soonyoung just stares between you with glassy, wide, hope-filled eyes. "I think you've learned your lesson, right, princess?"

"Mm, I have. I'll never play in your studio without you." You confirm, even though you're pretty sure you will if the opportunity arises. It's clear to you that Jihoon isn't genuinely annoyed by walking in on you two in any way, it's just an act. An act you really wouldn't mind repeating.

"That's my girl, up you get." He encourages and moves his hand to offer it to you and tug you up to your feet. And then he leans right in and slots his lips against yours. The kiss is utterly filthy from the get-go, full of tongue and soft moans from you both.

"Fuck," Soonyoung's whisper pulls you apart to look at him. He has one hand around his throbbing cock, slowly jerking himself to the sight of the two of you making out right in front of him.

"I said you can't cum, why the fuck are you touching yourself?" Jihoon questions harshly. "Put it away."

"W-what?" Soonyoung sputters in disbelief. "Put it away?"

"Mm, you didn't listen so you don't get to cum. Put your cock away and go sit in my chair with the headphones on that I left on the desk. Do not touch yourself either."

"I…okay." Soonyoung's lips protrude in a disappointed pout before he awkwardly tucks his cock back away and removes the headphones from his head to put on the stand, and then he waddles out of the booth to sit at Jihoon's desk and does as told.

"Ji," You murmur once you see Soonyoung settling the chunky noise-cancelling headphones over his ears. Jihoon hums as he turns his head to you after watching until Soonyoung falls still with his fingers holding onto the arms of the chair on either side of him. "Please?"

"Of course, you know I can never say no when you ask so nicely." He kisses you once more then reaches for your trousers to open them and pull them down your legs as he lowers to his knees. Obediently, you lift each leg, in turn, to allow him to pull the material off and fling it aside. To your surprise, Jihoon stays on his knees and slides his hands up your thighs, nudging a little until you open them enough that he can see the wet patch on the seat of your panties. "Oh, baby, you really need me, huh?"

"Yeah, need you so much." You confirm, knowing how much it gets Jihoon going to hear you being as shameless as he can be about what you want.

"Want my mouth, baby?" He teases, brushing his lips over your inner thigh.

"Want your cock."

Jihoon huffs a short, low laugh and looks up at you. "My cock?" You nod, pouting at him. "Want it that much you don't even want my mouth first?"

"Want you to fuck me."

"Mm, what my baby wants, my baby gets." He confirms and makes short work of removing your panties before he gets to his feet. "Face the mic." You listen, turning to face the mic and meet Soonyoung's wide gaze. "Can you hear us, Soonyoung?" You watch him nod as Jihoon steps up behind you, hands pushing his shorts and boxers down just enough to free his cock. "Did he nod?" You make a noise of confirmation as Jihoon focuses on pulling a condom from his pocket to open and slide it onto his length, tossing the wrapper aside carelessly. "Good. Want him to hear what he doesn't get because he didn't learn his lesson."

"Are you saying you would've let him fuck me if he had got his lines down?" You muse, breath catching with excitement when Jihoon grips your hip with his left hand, his right holding his cock as he gently taps your foot with his own to prompt you to spread your legs to accomodate him.

"Well, if he could get hard again after cumming in your mouth, sure." Jihoon scoffs condescendingly. "But judging by the way he can't even hold back to get a few lines down, I doubt he'd have the fucking stamina to go again."

"Shame," You inhale sharply as Jihoon starts to slide his cock into your dripping hole. "Ji,"

"Yeah, fuck, I know, baby, you're so desperate to be fucked, huh?" He teases, too breathless from the friction on his needy cock to sound as mean as he wants to right now. "This pussy needs to be filled, huh?"

"With you,"

"Yeah, with me." He jerks forward, sheathing himself inside you and making you moan at suddenly being full. It's a good thing he had been fingering you earlier and that you're so turned on and wet from everything that's happened otherwise he would not be able to do that without causing you both discomfort bordering on pain. "Fuck, you always feel so fucking good, baby." Jihoon exhales after just admiring how your walls hug his length so fucking perfectly. He'll never get over how good you feel around him. Every time it feels like the first time all over again.

He's fucking obsessed with your pussy at this point, utterly convinced he'll never find anyone as good as you again. And honestly, the feeling is pretty mutual, nobody has ever fucked you like Lee Jihoon and you doubt no one else ever will.

"Fuck me, Ji, come on," You encourage in a whine, gripping his hand on your hip to pull it around your waist knowing you'll need his strong arms to keep you up once he actually gets started. As it is, your legs are already shaking just from having his cock pressing motionlessly so deep within you.

As much as Jihoon would love to draw it out purely to wind up both you and Soonyoung, who is still watching with wide eyes and hands gripping the armrests so tight his knuckles are getting paler by the minute, Jihoon is honestly not faring much better himself where control is concerned. So he pulls back his hips after tightening his arm around your waist. He puts his right hand on your chest for extra stability and to keep you in position before he snaps his hips forward, forcing a high-pitched moan to tumble from your mouth and right into the microphone inches from your face.

After glancing over at Soonyoung to make sure he's paying attention, Jihoon truly does not waste time or hold back.

His hips slap against your ass so harshly with every rough thrust into your dripping pussy that your skin is starting to sting in the most delicious of ways. You're certain your ass with be red raw by the time he's done with you and honestly, you wouldn't have it any other fucking way.

"God, baby," Jihoon groans, leaning forward to talk lowly into your ear as his hand on your chest slides up to the bottom of your throat, applying no pressure but just resting there. Still, it makes you squeeze down around him at the mere suggestion of him wrapping his beautiful fingers around your fucking throat and choking you as he pummels your walls with his cock. "W-want it? Wan-wanna show Soonyoung how-fuck-how pretty you sound with a hand-hand around your throat?"

You can't even attempt to respond in any way, even if his hand isn't inching up your throat and threatening to restrict your airflow, you wouldn't be able to. Jihoon's fucking you way too good. All you can do is let more filthy noises tumble from your parted lips.

All the months of sex have really given Jihoon ample time to know your body inside out, literally. So he knows what the tightening on his cock means, knows what the stuttered 'ah-ah-ah's from your open mouth means. He fucking knows you want him to choke you even if you can't say it. He knows you, knows what you like and his hand on your throat isn't new to your sessions at all.

"Good girl." He breathes out and finally gets his hand in the right place while he slows his thrusting so he isn't jostling your body as much. He doesn't want to risk hurting you more than you like even if his cock is throbbing and trying to urge him to keep fucking you like a mad man.

The second Jihoon's fingers start to apply pressure, you grip him tighter, both with your hand and pussy. You're so fucking close to an orgasm, you can feel it right there but this isn't quite enough for you and Jihoon knows it, knows what the gasped attempts at babbles mean as your eyes roll back despite already being closed.

Instead of letting go of you to play with your clit like he usually would, Jihoon starts to grind into you, forcing his cock to rub hard and incessantly against the most sensitive spots amongst your throbbing walls in the most intensely pleasurable way.

"Fuck!" You squeak, eyes flying wide and unintentionally meeting Soonyoung's through the glass. He looks so far gone, practically drooling from his open mouth as he stares at you intently as if he's forgotten how to blink. You're not sure if that's what sends you over or if the timing is just too perfect but suddenly your orgasm crashes through your body so powerfully that your legs give out and Jihoon is forced to wrap both arms around you securely as your body sags. You barely even notice, mind and body flashing with bright pleasure.

Jihoon barely lasts a few more rolls of his hips as he does his best to work you through the climax before his own hits him and he groans into your neck as he fills the condom.

Slowly, you come around from the intense orgasm with a heaving chest and ears buzzing. You can vaguely tell you're being talked to but nothing is registering yet.

It's not the first time Jihoon has fucked you to this state and although it still always worries him a little that you get unresponsive as your mind puts itself back together, he knows how to handle it now and just focuses on carefully pulling his length from you without losing the condom.

Even though you can't hear him clearly, Jihoon still talks to you and tells you he's dealing with the condom as he awkwardly does his best to tie it off and then just tosses it to the floor gently to deal with later. He knows he'll regret throwing it to the floor later when he has to clean it up but right now he only cares about you.

Once his shorts and boxers are back up, Jihoon adjusts his arm around you until he can manoeuvre you up into his arms bridal style. He knows he doesn't have to be that careful with you so he doesn't feel bad about jostling your sated form as he opens the door to the booth to take you into the studio, but he does go back to being gentle as he lays you on the couch and pulls the blanket from the back over your lap for your modesty with Soonyoung in the room and still watching the two of you.

"You alright?" Jihoon asks, glancing over at Soonyoung quickly so the elder knows he's being talked to. Soonyoung removes the headphones quickly. "I said are you alright?"

"Oh, uh, ye-yeah. Is she?"

"Mm, she'll be around in a minute," Jihoon confirms and backs away from you to face Soonyoung. "You're not hard." He gives the taller a pointed look while putting his hands on his hips.

"I didn't touch myself!" Soonyoung defends rapidly, eyes wide and honest. "Just…"

"Came untouched?" Jihoon smirks as Soonyoung looks away embarrassed, cheeks darkening from the pleased flush from his post orgasm state. "I fucking knew you'd lose it with her moaning in your ears."

"She sounds so good, how do you stay so calm?" Soonyoung marvels looking at Jihoon utterly awestruck.

"Guess you need to learn some self-control, Soonyoung." Jihoon teases with a chuckle.

"I don't think I'm very good at learning lessons," Soonyoung admits with a sheepish smile that makes Jihoon scoff a laugh.

"I noticed. You still need to do your lines, don't think this gets you out of it for today."

"I don't think I can go back in that booth without getting hard again."

"Then I guess you'll have to be taught another lesson."

"I'm never going to be able to set foot in this studio without a boner ever again."

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gffa · 10 months

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Over the last week, I decided to go ahead with bookmarking all the fics I've recommended over the years on AO3 since I abide by tumblr poll results always (and man pour one out for all the fic that never made it to AO3 or has since been deleted, sooooo many gems lost to time!) and it was a bit more than the ~3,000 I was expecting:

Hopefully, this will be easier than browsing the hundreds of recs posts I've made, since you can filter for any of the author's tags now! These are mostly focused on Star Wars and DC fandom, but I did my time in the anime mines and occasional tours through some TV fandoms or movies. You can dig into everything unfiltered and start your own filtering, or the bigger fandoms you'll find:

MAJOR FANDOMS: Each of these should have 100+ at minimum and, in the case of Star Wars, literally almost half of them are in that fandom. Look, Star Wars fandom might be a trash fire in a lot of ways, but it is ON FIRE with some good fic. (Older bookmarks not guaranteed to match my current sentiments, especially re: the Jedi, but they did catch my fancy at that point in time!)

STAR WARS: - All Star Wars -OR- All Star Wars minus the Obi-Wan/Anakin ship - OR- Nothing BUT Obi-Wan/Anakin

BATMAN/DC: - DC can sometimes be tricky, but you can do a Batman* search and get most of them (though, sometimes Nightwing* or Young Justice* or Superman* will catch some of the others). Honestly, though, you might want to just do a search for what character or dynamic you like and have fun from there, because otherwise you're getting a face full of my Dick Grayson Is The Center Of The Universe And I'm Making That Everyone Else's Problem agenda. ;)

MARVEL/MCU: - Marvel* will probably get most of the various properties, though you may want to filter for Defenders* or Guardians of the Galaxy* if you're interested -OR- Marvel* without the Thor/Loki - These focus a lot on the Thor* fandom if you want to witness the results of like 8 years of constant voracious reading in that fandom (Minus the ship), because, seriously, I read a LOT of Odinson family fic. - Bonus, just do a search for Maximoff* to find some really good X-Men: First Class-verse because, listen, I have been ALL ABOUT the Maximoff twins since long before the movies or MCU brought them over and I will DIE ON THE HILL of "Marvel, make Magneto their bio-dad again or I'm never reading another comic of yours ever".

TOLKIEN/LORD OF THE RINGS/SILMARILLION/HOBBIT: - Tolkien* -OR- Hobbit* -OR- Lord of the Rings* searches will turn up most of my Elf-hunting, I primarily focus on the Sindar Elves, but look I can't resist my problematic Feanorian faves or that I will die on the hill that Fingolfin is the best ever. (You have NO IDEA how sad I am that so much fic on Stories of Arda or FFNET is not easily bookmarked on AO3, sob. I externally bookmarked a few of the bigger ones, but sooo many shorter faves are missing from my recs tag.)

CLAMP: - X/Tokyo Babylon legitimately bums me out because it's not a huge fandom and yet so much of what was written was pre-AO3 and lost when CLAMPesque went down or was never brought over from Livejournal, yet this fandom (well, the Seishirou/Subaru pairing) still burns brightly in my heart.

BOOKS: Chrestomanci | Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

DRAMAS: Nirvana in Fire | The Untamed -OR- Modao Zu Shi

VIDEO GAMES: Dragon Age: Inquisition | Final Fantasy 8 | Genshin Impact | Okami

BANDS: Arashi

All right, whew, that was actually a fun project, despite how much work it was to hunt down a lot of older faves to see if they were on AO3, hopefully you'll find this useful!

#lumi.txt #fic recs #star wars fic recs #batman fic recs

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silvcrignis · 1 year

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Wine Dad Literature Club || Doki Doki Literature Club AU || Verse Bio

“{Name?!} is that you?!”

You somewhat recognise the voice calling to you & turn around to see a man who has familiar features you remember from a time ago… It takes you a moment as the dark haired man walks up to you before the recognition hits you.

“Liam?!”

“Hi, {Name}, it’s been some time hasn’t it?” William Afton, your old childhood friend & neighbour laughs back quietly in that familiar quiet wry accent. You haven’t seen him since he’d set off for university for engineering… Or something like that. He reaches out, grasping your shoulder in a familiar warm grip, the proximity confirming he still wore the same cologne he had taken a liking to back when you were both teenagers.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here… Are you visiting {Town} or is your arrangement more permanent?”

“More permanent,” you confirm with a slight laugh, rubbing at the back of your neck.

“Oh! Really? Well, if you’re interested myself & a few friends of mine have a book club we’ve been running for a while. Maybe a bit pretentious in terms of the material we usually bring in to discuss but we spend a good majority of it drinking wine & talking about the books, jobs, hobbies, the kids, anything really.”

“Wait, wait, wait! The kids?” you asked, laughing a bit as you look him up & down, ignoring his eye roll. Of course in terms of the time passed it made sense William would have had kids but honestly imagining the “wild child” he was back then it also made sense to be taken aback & you didn’t mean any harm in your shock.

“Yes. The kids. All of us have them. We’re just a group of single fathers hanging out & expanding our horizons. I figured maybe you would be a good fit for the group but if not-“

“I suppose I could check it out,” you blurted, before he could finish his sentence.

“Fantastic. We meet on Fridays & Wednesdays. Take my number & just give me a call. We switch locations quite a bit,” he laughs again, handing you a card with his number scrawled across it before he turns & walks away. You feel your cheeks getting oddly flush as you type his number into your phone wondering why you feel so flustered when you suddenly freeze & realise something.

Why had he went out of his way to let you know he was a SINGLE dad?!

Despite your heated face you reason it was just Liam being his usual coy mildly cryptic self. He’d been that way since you were kids after all. Now about that club…

You arrive at the grand fortress that you couldn’t believe was classed as a “home” the gothic architecture had obviously been a castle or palace at some point in the past, apparently it belonged to one of the club members… You couldn’t help but wonder if someone this egregiously wealthy could be anything short of insufferable, William had described their tastes as pretentious after all… You roll your eyes but before you can even raise you fist to knock at the door it was pulled open by none other than William himself who gave you a warm smile.

“I’m so glad you made it, {Name}. Come on I’ll show you to the library Claude ever so graciously lends us… We probably take advantage of it a little,” he tells you, politely taking your elbow & guiding you through the utterly breathtaking home.

You step into the library & your jaw would have dropped if you had less decorum… Not only was this library beautiful & filled with some books that were probably worth more than you could ever afford but the single dads were… A sight to say in the least.

The first one you caught sight of wasn’t even looking in your direction & he looked rather young to be a father in your opinion, his hair was striking a glimmering platinum blonde with pink streaks running through it. He had bright mint green eyes, made brighter by the black liner framing them & obvious freckles across his nose which was currently wrinkled as he was sipping his wine, his brows furrowed before he laughed & said “1875, you bastard. You can’t fool me!”. His laughter was a lilting baritone, it almost sounded liked music, he was undeniably entrancing, he seemed to have an aura that almost encouraged keeping attention on him.

A snort brought your attention to a very tall fair skinned man, easily the tallest member of the group obvious even with him currently leaning over a chair. He seemed to be the oldest, at least his silver hair & glasses gave that first impression but a closer look at his face revealed he was in his late 30’s at most though his grin was mildly distracting, you couldn’t help but notice he had very sharp teeth… From here you couldn’t seem to tell exactly what colour his eyes were, they were very pale, if you had to guess they seemed to be a shade of blue but you would have to approach him to be entirely sure. Approaching him wasn’t something that necessarily found unappealing.

This time it was a snide comment from the corner of the room that set your eyes to wandering again & finally you have seen every member of the club. Dirty blonde hair is the first thing you notice, mostly because this man has a beard unlike the rest of the club. Unlike the other club members he DOES notice you looking at him & his hazel eyes immediately lock on yours & he doesn’t blink. You’re vaguely aware he’s dressed in a very expensive looking suit but you’re pointedly aware of the fact something about him seems… Off. He doesn’t have the same welcoming energy the others do, in fact your instincts are screaming at you to not approach him though you have no idea why that is.

It’s very easy for you to break eye contact with him to look at William who just chuckles & clears his throat.

“Kairo, Claude, Hans, this is {Name}. The new member I was telling you about.”

“Congratulations on your recent reunion,” the man who you suspected was named Claude said, surprisingly quietly though with a voice as deep as his you heard him just fine.

That sent Kairo(?) into a fit of giggles into his glass before he gave you a bright wide grin & wink.

“God, you’re hilarious. Or maybe the wine is making me think everything is funny. Oh Claude, where would I be without you?”

“Probably in your house, Kair. I doubt I enrich your life that substaintally…” the now confirmed Claude mused, scratching at the back of his head.

Hans didn’t contribute anything to the conversation other than a quiet scoff & once again you felt that… Strange put off feeling before William clapped his hands together.

“Well, pleasantries are done, enjoy the club,” he chuckled walking towards an armchair & leaving you with a few options.

Do you:

Stay with William? {Type “Option 1″ in the replies or click here} Approach Kairo? {Type “Option 2″ in the replies or click here} Approach Claude? {Type “Option 3″ in the replies or click here} Do not Approach Hans. {do not Type “Option 4″ in the replies or do not click here}

#x: Verse Bio #x: Another Chapter (Bio)#x: A Different Book (AU)#v: Wine Dad Literature Club (DDLC AU)#gm: He Always Comes Back (William Afton)#c: Kairo #c: Claude #gm: Frankenweenie (Hans Gruber)#((The original plan was to make new posts for the Visual Novel style interactive parts buuuut thats a lot of effort for this hellsite))#((BUT this is my first interactive verse bio so you yeah lets get it))#((ANYWAY HERE IS THE SURPRISE SAY THANK YOU))#RIP for Will we all knows what happens to him jkdsjndjskksks

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huicitawrites · 1 year

Text

The Hunt

Yandere! Miguel O’Hara x Fem! Spider! Reader

tw: yandere (slow-burn(?)), dark-fic, violence, assault, spoilers for across the spider-verse.

word count: 6,1 k

status: in revision

Prev chapter

taglist: @zeniiin @aikoiya @caramelcandescence @adamsloverboy @slowlymax @reapersimps @jenniferdixon05207 @superduckmilkshake @ceeesxy-blog @wotterblue

Part II

“Stay still and let me squash you like the spider you are!"

"I think I'll pass on that one, thanks" you retorted as you moved out of yet another attack which could have pierced through you. You were jumping around, feet and arms in sync as you balanced your body to dodge the snapping metal claws.

The flow of your body conveyed an effortless image, but the fight was far from over. As hard as it was to admit, you were having a tough time figuring it out.

"Be wary of those, (Y/n)"

"Yep"

The foe before you was good at maintaining his distance and using the range of the metal limbs to his advantage. The claws snapped any web you shot at him and easily dodged and covered from your attacks as well. This metal exoskeleton he had was really bothering you- whereas you were used to the fleshy feeling of the mutant tentacles of the mad bio-engineering scientist you knew, this self-proclaimed Otto Octavius’ tentacles were purely made of metal. And it was quite metal, because your fist hurt like hell when you came into contact with it despite your super-strength. In addition, the metal exoskeleton was purely coordinated with his movements. They were calculated and clean, unlike the brash and wild nature of 'your' Doc Ock. [Thank God this copycat came in with a discount, it would have been worse if you had to deal with eight metal octopi-limbs.]

In the battle's agitation, something odd occurred. Just when you thought it could not get any weirder, his frame shook violently, and he fell to the ground in a flash of strange colors and shapes. His voice quivered, his shout of pain came out distorted and chopped.

"What the-? Peter, is he...?"

"Glitching?” he said with doubt, “but how..." immediately, he began to tap away on the keyboard.

You did not want to waste your time observing the phenomenon, instead deeming this man dangerous, you took the opportunity to confine him in your webs. The webs surrounded his torso and tied extra-tight around the metal limbs.

The glitching stopped and you neared him.

"So… Otto Octavius, right? Mind telling me more about Spider-Man?" You asked, but there was no answer. His head was hanging, and his shoulders were too lax, he seemed unconscious.

"Um, sir?" You closed the distance between you and touched him briefly. "Sir? Other Dock Ock?" You continued, and just as you were about to check if he was breathing, something cool clamped down on your wrist.

Immediately you redirected your sight and saw a metal claw on your wrist, it was viciously gripping you. Then you heard laughing, making you turn your attention at a now perfectly conscious man with scraps of web around him on the floor.

"Ah, shit". In cue with the curse that left your lips, you were thrown at full force against the building. Your head impacted first and your body slumped to the ground, a loud ringing sounded off in your ears, and your sight turned terribly foggy.

You groaned in pain and attempted to get up, but the metal limb got to you first and lifted you off the ground once more. It pulled you near as you thrashed. To escape from the vice grip, you focused the muscles of your arm and began to open apart the metal claw. The metal screeched and folded, yet your efforts dwindled when another claw came at you.

This time, it wrapped itself around your throat, cutting the airflow into your system. He hoisted you up to admire your writhing form.

"I just love killing spiders," he grinned wickedly, "after this, Peter Parker is next".

The mention of your friend sent the adrenaline in your body rushing and your heart strained against your chest. Your body was urging you to move, muscles tightening to contract and exert force- but your eyes began to fail you. Your vision slowly turned opaque due to the lack of oxygen.

A final metal claw appeared, and you vaguely made out a glimmering edge at the center of it- a sharp blade.

"Die."

You heard the words laced with venom and your friend frankly calling out to you, his voice drowned by the fading consciousness of your body. Was this the end? Is this the way it all ends?

'C'mon girl, keep it up!'

Just when the point-end of the blade was about to pierce you, an orange glow painted the scene. An engine roared— the blade never came.

You were dropped on the ground unceremoniously when the vice grip let go of you. Lips parted for a large gasp for that sweet, sweet air. Still, its sudden intrusion made you cough, and as your back shook furiously you felt a soothing sensation on it. Somebody was rubbing your back.

"You alright?" Another masculine voice, but this time, it was friendly and caring. There were no traces of animosity in it.

Even before your sight could clear, your spider-sense was running. It was running even more wild than before, and when you opened your eyes to see your savior, you were left astonished.

Your spider-sense tingled and evened out, synchronizing up with another spider-sense.

This man was just like you.

The web-patterned mask, his lenses, the arachnid symbol on his chest. It was all too familiar.

"You...are me?"

"No, and yes. I mean, no, I am not you, but I am like you." He hoisted you up by the elbow and put you on your feet. "Anyway, explanations later, now we have to deal with this guy and put him back in his dimension."

"In his dimension? What-"

"Explanations later", a female voice interrupted and reiterated. You glanced at the direction of the voice and your spider-sense picked up the same feeling.

It was a woman with big, dense curly hair, in a stylish leather tracksuit with a matching headband, and she rode on a motorcycle. She did not wear a mask, revealing part of her brown skin, but she had large, yellow-tinted sunglasses in a shape and proportion you knew all too well.

The woman flashed you a sweet smile, showing her gapped-pearly whites.

"Now, let's kick ass" and she roared the engine once more and rode straight at Octavius. She crashed the vehicle into him, pushing him back, and stood up on it. As she balanced her weight forwards on the vehicle, she reached out her hand- five web strings much like your own sprouted from the pads of her fingers. She brought the villain flush against the tire of the running motorbike, and he clutched his face in pain. The man who patted you followed suit, and he too shot web, although out from his wrist, and launched himself against him. He delivered a couple of blows, punches, and kicks, as he used his 'web-shooter' -you guessed- to propel back and forth.

You just stood there, eyes wide and lenses as big as round plates.

"Peter, are you seeing this?"

"Yes, and I'm already coming up with some theories" you heard the fast-clicking sound of a keypad going on. "I can't have anything for sure and it's not like I can track back to any tabs on these guys... The best thing I can produce is for you to stick around and find out, but do not lower your guard"

"I guess so" you said, simply taking in and accepting what was going on as you took speed and jumped, your legs pulling back and your arms stretching at a sharp angle behind your back.

Your body flew, and you looked down to see Octavius struggling to stand up as the two new heroes faced him.

Octavius stood up on all metal fours and he growled in rage, "Spider-Man!" his sights now focused on the blue and red hero.

"You might want to look behind you, Doc"

The smirk of the lady on the motorcycle and the cheekiness of the disguised man said it all. The dark silhouette of a shadow cast upon him was growing bigger, and Doc Ock turned his head.

Your wrists extended and web shot from both. The silk rope attached itself to the upper shoulders of the metal limbs and you grasped the webs to pull yourself. With the help of force and acceleration, you delivered a powerful kick on the man’s back.

Your attack was not meaningless, for your aim was set on the bright spot at the top near his nape. The power source, the connection of the exoskeleton with Octavius’ nervous system.

A few sparks blew off, signaling your success in delivering the final blow. Well, that, and how the tentacles trembled before collapsing- dropping the mad man on the ground.

“You!” he whipped his head, “You little- “his words were cut short by web sticking on his lips, sealing them shut.

“Not a word more from you, please. I kinda had enough,” you exasperated and slumped your shoulders. Your hand rubbed on your head, a little bit of pain still lingering on the impacted area.

You were about to web him up, this time making sure he would stay put, but the curly-haired woman halted you with her hand. With the other, she slid a disk across the floor which stopped in front of Octavius. Then, laser-like hexagons formed, one by one until the villain was encased fully.

“Oh, well that’s nice. What is that?”

“A portable prison we use to capture anomalies.”

“Anomalies?”

“People that stray from their original dimensions and pose a threat to the cannon.”

“The cannon?” 'Geez, keeping up with this new information is hard'. Amid your confusion, the woman laughed. She was not laughing out in mockery, more like she had found your confusion endearing.

She stretched out her hand for you to shake it, and hesitantly you did.

“I am Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman, Earth-404.”

“And I’m Peter B. Parker, the one and only Spiderman from Earth-616B” The man took off his mask, showing excited eyes and a warm smile as he stretched out his hand. The physical resemblance he had to your best friend was uncanny, well, he was him from another dimension, of course. The brown eyes and hazelnut hair, but he was much taller, certainly older and you could distinguish the outline of worked muscles below his spandex suit.

“(Y/n), this is unbelievable...” but you ignored your friend through the comms as you were just as surprised as him, or even more.

“Spider-Woman, I mean, (Y/n) (L/n), Earth…

“Earth-699” Peter B Parker filled in for you, and you repeated his words, taking them in your mind.

“Wait, wait… So, you are Spider-Women,” you glanced at Peter B. Parker, “Spider…people… sorry, from other dimensions?” you asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” and Jessica Drew hummed in approval of Peter B’s words.

“And, and you! I know you! Well, I know you in this world. He’s my best friend, and my back-up” the other Peter chuckled.

“Ooh, the classic back-at-the-chair guy?” his eyebrow twitched in curiosity. “Feels like a demotion though…”

“Hey!"

You giggled at his antics, "Trust me, you are very cool in this dimension too. Without him, I would not be Spider-Woman". Your warm smile and noble words caught the brown eyes of Jessica, and for a moment, she stared right at your own not long after her and the other Peter -you will call him Peter. B- shared silent eye contact which spoke volumes between them. Then they both smiled, and Jessica Drew giggled, "This one is yours; I have already recruited a lot. Miguel will bite my head off if I bring in one more"

"Right, right, you just want to make me be the one to ask him"

Confused about what they were talking about and who, you were about to ask them before Peter B spoke first.

"So, we like you- my spider-sense can already tell me you are an amazing hero, (Y/n). Do you want to join us? And the rest of Spiders, a spider-society of our own if you are interested."

People just like you? Your heart began to beat fast with joy and excitement, this, this was amazing. If there is a whole society of other people, of other You's, Peter B's, and Jessica's, with their own hero journeys, spider-suits, spider-abilities, and voices to be heard- you wanted all in.

"I'm in!" you exclaimed, physically jumping at the opportunity. The afro spider-woman hopped back on her motorbike, you saw her fiddle with a bracelet on her wrist, a slick white-metal watch of sorts, and the same orange glow from before emerged. This time, you took a closer look- it was a portal, a hexagonal electric-orange portal made of rings.

Peter B. hopped on behind Jessica, and he looked back behind at you and beckoned you closer with his hand, patting the space left on the leather seat. You smiled wide below the mask and rushed your feet to the vehicle, hopping on.

"You know it's almost two in the morning and we have work tomorrow, right?" Your Peter's voice sounded. You groaned, "Yes, don't wait for me. Also, didn't take my keys so leave the window open please"

"Again? Girl, I-" but Peter heard the roaring of an engine and the sound of screeching tires before the loud beep signaling the end of the intercommunication device and he cursed under his breath. He shut down the three-screen PC and kicked his feet to distance the chair from the desk, drawing a large sigh from his lips. He stood up, revealing his pajama set and house coat, and very fluffy set of Spider-Woman slippers you had gifted him jokingly, [wearing unofficial merch of your vigilante best-friend was weirdly hilarious, but they were too comfortable and soft to pass]. He walked toward the living rooms' window, thank God you two were on the seventh floor, and pulled off the lock.

"One of these days I swear I will lock her out, so she begins taking her goddamn keys", he grunted in between teeth. He dragged the palm of his hand down his features, squeezing down his cheeks and wrinkling them. He glanced at the dreadful hour, led bright numbers making out 1:50 AM.

'As long as I get in bed before two...' Despite the petty annoyance this occurrence caused, he could not help but crack a smile.

He looked out the window and observed the city lights, contemplating the night.

You were incredible to Peter, your best friend. Sometimes he wished NYC were more grateful for the protection your courageous and self-risking services lent. Although he was aware they were out of your heart.

Peter took a long, loud sip of his mug of tea. It was halfway cold. As he drank and emptied the contents of his cup, Peter wondered.

"Who is going to protect you when you are too busy protecting others, (Y/n)", his worrisome thoughts were vocalized. Part of why Peter helped you back to the chair was because of this because he was worried about you. Of course, it felt nice and gratifying to put his own grains of sand in the jar of NYC's safety, protecting citizens and loved ones alike, but deep-down Peter felt powerless.

What if one day someone manages to best you, or you mess with the worst of people? Someone you will not be able to defeat, someone like you? The possibilities, the enemies, could be endless. After what tonight's events revealed the existence stirred something within him, call it his Parker-Sense [turns out there is a Peter Parker who is a Spider-Man as well in another universe- he will have to ask you more about it, tomorrow.].

He placed the cup down on the coffee table beside the heater, casting aside his worries along it. Peter knew he could do nothing but help from back of the front lines- he could only hope the gadgets and suits he designed for you would help you in your quest and help you make it back home every night.

You raised your arms as if you were on the best rollercoaster ride in the world whilst you travelled through the fabric of time and space. It was fast and short, but breathtaking. There was not enough time to process what you had just experienced as you crossed through a flash of light.

As the flash dispersed, you noticed your surroundings. You found yourself inside a big, big building. Although the design was minimalistic, and the color grey was dominating, you made out figures of diverse colors.

Not figures, people.

And not regular people, people like you- spider people.

Hundreds of them, walking, chatting, hanging around. On the floor, on the ceiling, on the walls, all around the unorganized columns that stretched everywhere in every direction.

Your spider-sense had already caught up with the gig, because your mind has surprisingly not fallen apart.

"Welcome to HQ, this is the lobby" Peter B. announced.

A simple 'woah' was all you could muster as your lenses widened. Jessica hopped off her motorbike and stored it in a pocket-size gadget, somehow but it does not surprise you, and she tapped on your wrist. She handed you a purple bracelet, "It's a one-day pass, it allows you to stay here without glitching. You may have seen it happen to that stray Doc Ock".

‘So, he was glitching, huh.’

You hung the bracelet around your wrist and secured it tight, you guessed glitching was not very comfortable and you did not really want to find out for yourself. Once you put it on, she smiled and turned on her heels, gesturing to you with her head to follow her.

"We got to go girl, can't keep Miguel waiting."

"Miguel?" you enquired.

"Miguel O' Hara" Peter B answered for her as he began to walk beside you "the man behind this society. This-", he twirled around and raised his hands in contemplation as the three of you walked, "-was all his idea. He is the leader, it's thanks to him that we are all able to protect and maintain every dimension stable".

'Well, he sounds like a cool guy- I should probably meet him if I'm around here, want to make a good first impression’

"He can also come off as intimidating and harsh, but he's got no bite. He just has a little bit of fang to show, no more. So don't be scared or feel intimidated".

'Or not', you gulped.

Something about the sweet tone in Peter B’s voice, like he had given this disclaimer a couple of times before, slightly unsettled you- but you hid your nervousness behind a small chuckle.

As Jessica lead the way, or Jess as she insisted you call her, you 'toured' the facilities- a cafeteria with spider-themed food, a gym fit for training the super-strengthen, a villain-confinement area in which you found yourself mesmerized by the different versions of villains you had faced [which was a slightly awkward experience as you tried to ignore the daggers that were coming out from that Doc Ock's eyes and threatened to destroy the barrier that imprisoned him]. You even got to know of a therapy room, which could always come in handy later, who knows. You must make sure to swing by the cafeteria later and try out that Spider-Burger, and certainly try out the super/human equipment in the training center [it is not your usual friendly-neighborhood gym that has a leg press machine loaded with the weight of a train].

It was crazy- Peter B. and Jess told you everything about this place. They talked about the multiverse, and how everyone is connected through key moments in their lives as 'Spiders' through cannon events- which were more or less significant events that would shape their paths as heroes, some good, some bad, and some very bad- but all of them necessary.

The death of your parents. Although you would never get over it, and the belief that you could have done something if you hadn’t been so powerless at that time was still rooted deep within your heart- but the fact that it was destined to happen as part of your life as Spider-Woman brought you some relief, because you felt as if it was not entirely your fault alone. They were cannon events in your life as Spider-Woman, and nothing was supposed to prevent them.

It was bittersweet- it made you feel understood. Even though you had your own best friend who you could rely on, and you knew you could tell him everything, you also knew he would not understand. There is a great responsibility that comes with this power, and with its burdens, and inner battles that make you feel alone in the struggle, but not anymore.

You are not alone, you are not the one and only Spider-Woman, and that made you feel you could find other people to bare this struggle with.

The 'Spider' Peter continued with the explanation, "-- and that's why anomalies are so dangerous, and we have to deal with them, because they can break the cannon and thus destroy the fabric of the dimension that has been disturbed, and with it, millions of lives."

In cue with the end of his talk, Jess and Peter B. halted their steps. "We're here" she said and pointed with her gaze to move forward. So, you did, you took a step forward.

Your eyes took in the room, it was dark, and the ceiling was tall. There was a platform in the middle of it, and the orange light was abundant. Atop the platform was a man standing, his wide back facing and disheveled strands of hair facing you- he seemed busy, and too concentrated on the dozens of holographic screens surrounding him.

There was a loud silence in the room, until Jess nudged Peter B with her elbow, and he blurted, "Okay, okay, lemme’ just" he adjusted the collar of his suit, as if it were too tight on him. He breathed in, calming down his nerves, which made you more nervous because why would he be?

"Hey! Miguel!" his voice echoed through the room, and he waved eagerly at the man above. It was a slight movement, but you noticed how this 'Miguel' threw his head back and sighed loudly- it was clear that he was annoyed by the interruption.

"Que ganas de molestar... What is it?!" The first part of his sentence was barely audible, but he made sure to raise his voice for the words that came out in English. His body was now facing the three of you, hands rested on his hips, and body weight slumped on his right leg.

From that height, he seemed as if he was looking down on you...

"Give me a minute, (Y/n), you see he looks tough, but he is really easy to crack" Peter B attempted to reassure you, earning a roll of the eyes of Jess which you barely dismissed, and he webbed a corner of the platform and pulled himself up to it.

Peter B's physical gestures were funny and full of movement, while the man remained stiff and stoic. You could not hear the conversation well, they were meters above you, but you guessed they were talking about you--

"C'mon Miguel, she's amazing really, we could use a helping hand and-"

"There's lots of helping hands already"

"Yes, but the more the merrier right? I am serious, you're not going to regret it, I've seen her, and Jess too"

Their talk continued for a few minutes, but then you saw Peter B clinging on to the man's shoulder and you saw him turn his head, mouthing the words 'all right.'

Proving your guess to be true, you saw Peter B smile widely and he walked towards the edge of the platform, "Y/N! Climb up here!" He called out to you and gestured with his hand, and you did just as he did a few minutes ago. Before you could pull yourself, however, Jess tugged lightly at your mask.

"You should probably take that off, you don't want to be rude in your first day before the boss, right?" she chuckled. "You're right," you nodded and proceeded with her advice. Your fingers slid under the mask and hooked at its hem, you tugged upwards. Your (h/c) strands cascaded down and bounced on your shoulders, and you revealed a curious set of (e/c) eyes and (s/c) skin.

Jess ran her hands through your hair, quickly fixing it- after being pressed down by the mask it had a little bit of frizz to it, "You're looking great, now go get that job girl" and she turned you around by the shoulders and patted your back in support.

You smiled and blushed, a little bit of confidence surging within you, you were nervous.

[His gaze, something about it, it made you uncomfortable. You did not think much of it, putting the blame on the towering height the platform provided.]

You twisted your fist around the web, and swung yourself and pulled down with strength, propelling yourself upwards. You made sure to land with grace on the platform, you really wanted to land yourself that good first impression.

"Here she is," Peter B dragged on the sound of the vowels, as if presenting some grand entrance, he walked behind you and placed his hands on your shoulders. Quickly, Peter B hunched and whispered encouraging words in your ear-

"You'll do great," he said softly against your ear. You offered a small smile and walked out of his hold, facing the man before you two.

'Well, damn' you said loudly in your mind. If when you were below this man seemed intimidating, now up close, it was ten times more so. He had a big build, broad shoulders and clear, lined brick muscles under his cyber-punk blue and red suit. His forearms left his hips and were flexed below his broad chest, highlighting the muscles in his arms even more. You looked up to his face and gulped.

He had a chiseled, handsome, tanned face- his jaw was sharp and so was his wide nose, his cheekbones were high and his eyebrows thick and straight, giving him a mature look. Your guess was that he was somewhere in his 30's, and by the look in his fierce yet tired eyes evinced by the bags under them, you guessed he had also gone through a lot (not like you will pry about it now, that seemed like a death wish for sure).

Were you staring for too long? You did not notice, at least not until the man before you grunted and shot raised his eyebrows, tilting his face to the side as if granting you the permission to speak.

You also heard Peter B. cough, not so casually.

"Uhm, hi! I," you smiled widely, only to earn a slight judgmental look from him, 'oh my god, this is going to be harder than it looks.' To recover from that small awkward moment, you offered you hand to shake it and rephrased, "Hello, I'm (Y/n) (L/n) and I'm Spider-Woman from Earth-699, or so I've been told."

You recomposed your breath and stance, shoulders and back straightened, trying to come off as confident and polite. "I met Peter B. Parker and Jessica Drew on my night patrol, and it was quite a surprise, but a nice one. They told me everything about this place, and about the multiverse," unbeknownst to you, the glint in your eyes as your excitement began to slip past the professional facade caught his eyes, "and let me tell you I would be more than glad to join the team, it would be an amazing opportunity, and a responsibility I would be more than glad to take over".

Miguel could tell you were not lying, albeit he could tell you were nervous and a bit fidgety, but your tongue rolled not honeyed words, but ones that were sincere. He genuinely appreciated that.

Your hand was still outstretched when he called out for his trusted A.I, "Lyla", and with simply calling out her name, it appeared.

A tiny orange holograph of a person appeared right before you, at the edge of your nose to be precise, like a playful fairy. She wore an oversize coat and fashionable boots, and distinctive pink heart-shaped glasses.

"Hello!" She greeted, and you were slightly caught off guard. You were about to greet back, but she vanished, and reappeared on your shoulder, and then again, and she reappeared on your other shoulder, and again- this time above you. Your sight tried to follow her, but to no avail as she vanished and materialized, yet you did catch a glimpse of these round devices she had with her which bathed you, in yet again, orange light.

"Scanning complete!" she announced and appeared for a final time on Miguel's shoulder. "Let's see... Indeed, from Earth-699, and with an excellent track record of ten years! Her cannon remains intact, and if you ask me, she seems to be an excellent candidate."

"Oh, thanks...?" You were not sure what to say, how could she know all that? It was a heck of an artificial intelligence, nothing you had witnessed back at home, even with Pete's genius, and she even winked at you. She was sentient, that was mind blowing.

Whatever Lyla, as you recalled, showed Miguel seemed to be some sort of CV. He was looking through a holographic tab, and you managed to see a few mirrored images of you and your New York, recognizing frames and scenes from your life and the people you had come across. As he scrolled down through the screen, he kept taking glances at you, as if corroborating the information, while you just stood there with a bright smile and relaxed features in your face- although you were panicking on the inside.

The tanned man closed the tab and redirected his gaze on you, his dark eyes piercing right through yours, but his features relaxed and he even offered a small smile.

"My name is Miguel O' Hara," a smooth, Spanish accent evident on his first name, "and I'm this universe's Spiderman, Earth-2099." He stretched out his own hand, offering it to you and you shook it- his grip was strong and secure, and his hand enclosed over your smaller one.

He retrieved his hand, but he kept it open, his palm facing up while he showed it to you. A bracelet began to materialize on it. After a few seconds, the materializing process was complete, and you noticed the same device Peter B. and Jess had on their wrists.

"It's a travelling gizmo, used for hopping to other dimensions without glitching" the A.I filled in. You took it carefully from Miguel's hands, and with the same manner, you slid it on your wrist- it was a perfect fit.

After the click sound, you admired it for a few seconds before Miguel spoke again, "You are part of the club now."

His features fell back to a strict, but calm, look on his face, and he continued, "You'll be called for missions through the gizmo, nothing for today but be sure to answer on time. I do not like it when people are late for work", he said harshly, and you nodded.

"See, I told you it would work out!" the 'professional' atmosphere was cut short by Peter B, who seemed excited as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. "She won't disappoint Miguel, I'm sure of it." He said as he smiled at Miguel, and you noticed how his features fell flat upon Peter B, however you could not help a giggle escape from your lips.

"Yes, I'll make sure of that", you looked at Peter and smiled, and repeated the same affection with Miguel, who widened his eyes but recomposed quickly, covering for any slip-ups.

"Well if everything is settled then, I'll be leaving." Peter B. patted your shoulders simultaneously "I have a little girl and a beautiful wife waiting for me, back home." The words that came out of the Spider' Peter made your eyes widen and your mouth dropped open,

"You are married?! And have a child?!"

"Yes, they are the most wonderful people on Earth!" he said giddily, then he quirked his eyebrows and put his hands on his hips, he sounded quizzical "Why do you sound so surprised though?"

"No, no, I'm just very curious- as you are the other version of my best friend. So, who's the lucky girl?" you enquired, still not believing it.

"Mary Jane, I don't know if you know her in your dimension," he said with a warm tone in his voice, you could tell by the way he spoke about her that he was really in love with her. Of course, you knew Mary Jane, or MJ as you called her. She was a close friend of yours, and Pete, and the main subject of your teasing against him. In your dimension, Peter is so in love with MJ but has yet to gather the courage to face her and take her out on a date.

You laughed, "My Peter would be blushing mad right now. He has yet to take her out on a date and make his move", your words made Peter B remember of the past, and he chuckled.

"Any advice I could relay to him? I want to be the best wingman there is"

"Just tell him to be himself, it'll work out. Ooh, but be sure to tell him he must be on time when he arranges any dates! It will save him a lot of trouble!"

"I'll make sure to tell him", you giggled. Then Peter B proceeded to take out his cellphone and show you pictures of his baby daughter, MJ. You could not help but gush alongside him, she was adorable, with her funny faces, the pictures of her playing around and in little outfits, and as she was doing little mischiefs [you swore right there and then that when the time comes, you would be the coolest auntie ever]

You continued to fangirl over the baby photos until Miguel O'Hara interrupted the both of you, "It's getting late, the both of you. "

His face said it all- the poker face, and flat lips, he looked tired. Hence you bid farewell, Lyla sat on your shoulder as she helped you with the interface of the gizmo. You managed to open a portal back to your home dimension and bid the corresponding farewells before jumping back home.

"So, I get that you did like her?"

Miguel grunted, "Como sea, el tiempo lo dira. Go home Peter, I can't stand you any longer".

Seeing that Miguel was already switching back to his grumpy humor, Peter B raised his hands in the air. "Geez, Miguel, cut me some slack" and turned around, not before making a portal to his own dimension. With his hands still raised in the air, he teased, "You'll end up scaring the new recruit" and jumped back into the portal before he could face an even grumpier Miguel.

"Ese insufrible hijo de-"

"He's kinda right though"

"Lyla!"

"See? Geez, you're going to get even more wrinkles..."

The A.I vanished out of Miguel's clawed swipe, and sticked out her tongue in mockery as the man growled.

Surprisingly, instead of landing on the hard concrete floor, you landed on the soft surface of what you recognized to be your own bed, and you made a mental note to remind yourself to thank Lyla.

"Ah, right, the window", you recalled you had told Pete to leave it open, so you went out to the living room and put on its lock. The living room was dark, it had the faint glow of NYC's night. It was a pleasant surprise for you thought you would be arriving at dawn, but it was not the case- you would get more sleep.

"Five hours of sleep are still better than one" you mumbled and retrieved the used mug left on the coffee table, which you then rinsed in the sink- a small favor for your guy in the chair.

At last, you took off your suit and after doing your nightly bathroom routine, you plopped on the bed. Sleep caught up with you quickly, it had been a busy and long night- you only hoped you would listen to your alarm in the morning and be able to get to work.

You shifted in your bed and cuddled into your pillow, your lips parted and let own a drowsy yawn, "I'll have to tell everything to Pete tomorrow" and with that, you closed your eyes.

Although tired and sleepy, you could not help the fuzzy feeling in your chest- you were so happy for what was to come, hoping for the best. You could not wait to be back at headquarters, but you guess, it will have to wait until tomorrow in the least. For now, you would have to settle for some hours of sleep.

A/n: EVERYONE THANK YOU SO MUCH! Part I is about to reach 2k notes and I can't believe I now have 1k followers, truly, thank you so much. Thank you to all the people that have reblogged and commented, I can't express how thankful I am truly. I also want to apologize for the delay, I had a hard writer's block as regards Miguel's introduction, I wanted it to be perfect, and it still not is. I also wanted to give reader a good backbone for the story. Anyway, Part III follows suit and with it the yandere! (yes! finally- I know people can get impatient for it bc it happens to me too). Anyways, I hope you like this part, and I am looking forward for your opinions!

Translations: (Btw, I am Argentinean, not Mexican, so I do speak castellano or spanish, but not mexican-slang spanish. I hope my Mexican readers are cool with the way Miguel speaks!) "Que ganas de molestar..." = So bothersome/ so annoying, or literally 'such need to bother' "Como sea, el tiempo lo dira." = Anyway/Anyhow, time will tell. "Ese insufrible hijo de-" = That insufferable son of a-

#yandere #yandere x reader #self insert #yandere blog #yandere fanfiction #yandere writing #miguel o' hara x reader #yandere miguel #yandere miguel o' hara #yandere miguel x reader #yandere miguel o' hara x reader #fem reader #yandere across the spider-verse #yandere spiderman #spiderman 2099 #yandere spiderman 2099

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yakichoufd · 3 months

Note

Hi! First off I love all of your art, and I'm glad to see you branching out into some cool x men comic stuff! I hope your having fun!

Since I saw your posts about learning some things from Scott's villain origin story cough cough oops I mean canon background stuff I was curious what you think about Scott's bio brother Alex or if you've read much about him.

Fun Fact, my personal first introduction to Alex and Scott's sibling relationship was actually through X Men evolution (wholesome trauma recovery and family love) and the X Men First Class movie (which completely reversed their actual canon backgrounds)

I was definitely in for a trip the first time I read the comics XD

I went to the Dutch comic con yesterday and I got more x-men comics hehe! So I'm slowly getting into the comic lore (but it is so vast, I feel depending of its universes, the different comics cancel each others haha) I only know Alex Summers from X-men evolution and LOVE him and his relationship with Scott. You can clearly see how much they care for each others and they love each other dearly even if they were seperated for so long. I love seeing Scott being a big brother. I watched the X-men movies (except for the phoenix one) and I do not recall Scott or Alex, lmao! I guess they didnt have a big roles (I think the movie-verse really focused on Logan in general so it erased a lot of x-men characters. I do remember Cyclops from the 2000s movies, he was cool but I don't remember much.) I vagely remember they made Scott a teenager in the latest movies and I was really confused but that choice. I am unsure that I want to read Alex summers Comic-verse. From what I could conclude with my little knowledge is that Scott and Alex aren't close. They even work against each other? I'm not really fond of that, so I won't dig into it. I'll keep the adorable relationship Scott and Alex has in X-men Evolution!

#scott summers #cyclops #alex summers #havok #ask response

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fuckedmutt · 4 months

Text

intro post

You can call me Ecto

I’m 19 and use he/him

ftm and bisexual, autistic

my asks are open and encouraged!

DNI: minors, no age in bio, straight men (i’m a guy), ageplay/ddlg/any fetish that deals with childish shit, bigots should go without saying. Conservatives aren’t welcome here.

fat virgin verse switch, admittedly sub leaning in my fantasies

This is my horny sideblog! I like and follow from b*******x

heavy t4t lean

I have an untagged queue running!

Kinks: BDSM, praise, aphrodisiacs, corruption, petplay, overstim, orgasm control, restraints, free use, breeding (without preg), master/slave, objectification, monsterfucker, femdom, group play

Limits: Preg, lactation, unsanitary (piss, shit, etc), feeding/weight, daddy kink etc (exception for the title mommy), knife play w/ actual cutting

Terms: feel free to ask! most neutral or masc ones are good. Misgendering won’t be tolerated. Don’t really care about genitalia but nothing ‘cutesy’ (puppy parts, etc)

Other interests: psychology, punk and queer history, biology, animals in general, ask me my fandoms pls

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trancylovecraft · 17 days

Text

(AOEX) The Blood Of An Unwilling Covenant

PART 7 OF 8: Lucifer

(Yandere Platonic Demon Kings (Ba'al) x Reader)

SERIES SUMMARY:

BARISTA'S NOTE: sECOND TO LAST PART LETS GO!!!!! GENDER: Femme FANDOM: Blue Exorcist

☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★

LAST PART ,AO3 LINK, SERIES MASTERLIST, NEXT PART

"Camera.. Check! Phone.. Check! Spare change of clothes.. Erm.."

Curtains half drawn over murky windows let light flood into the room, The early morning sun being not deterred by the soot dusting the window panes. It shone on the mess in the room, Shine rolling off ceramics and other illuminating surfaces.

Jars filled with demon bio-produce were piled up to the walls, Heavy-bound books of all sorts being just as tall. Clothes thrown everywhere, A mix of both hers and Lewins. All of it made for a gnarly sight and smell to come under.

But it was nothing compared to the current mess, If that was even possible. The old musty couch was strewn with more clothes than normal. TV still blaring some American cartoon as [F/N] paced back and forth between place to place.

She was somehow able to get around the place with relative ease. Opening up box after box stacked up top everywhere, Apartment still barely moved into.

"Heya.. You good there?" Lewin drawled as he watched [F/N] run back and forth to rummage through all the boxes in the room. Lewin himself was currently lazing upon the old burgundy couch, The one that had cushions torn and had been picked up on the side of the road by none other by the man himself.

[F/N] was almost foaming at the mouth, Even more so once she snapped her head over to him.

"Have you seen any of my clothes around here? I can't find the box with all my stuff in it- Ugh.." [F/N] winced once she drew her arm back out, A thick blue glow wrapped around it and hugging it tight with a slimy touch. A demon, And by the shape it took? No doubt a baby kraken.

Lewin, Ironically, Cracked a smile once he saw it.

"Oops, My bad!" He chuckled, Instantly raising a lazy hand to somehow shoo the demon away. "Linnaeus!"

And just as the demon had came, It had vanished at the summary of it's fatal verse. It seemed to writhe, Spasming and shaking before finally the grip around her loosened entirely. It fell, Hitting the floor as it's blue light started to flicker.

[F/N] looked at it's crumpled body, Disgust running through her features.

"Yeah, Keep your demons in their pens.. Damn it, Lew'.. This isn't the first time.." She scoffed, Pinching her brows with her now-free hand.

"Seriously.. You doin' good? I can see wrinkle lines appearing on your head." Lewin said, Gesturing to his own forehead hidden behind his mop of hair. She groaned, [F/N]'s eyes narrowing in on him.

"It's just.. I can't find my clothes and I need a separate pair in case these ones get ruined! Like I've already got my camera, A few notebooks.. Summoning papers, You know- But I still need my spare change and I can't find it for the life of me!" [F/N] exasperated, Sweat dusting her face.

"Don't you think you got enough?" Lewin said, Pointing over to the backpack sitting atop one of the heaps which so happened to be stuffed full of various items. All of which she listed, Including several other artefacts that seemed weird to where she'd be going.

"Not nearly! Since I wasn't able to go on the camping trip thing, I need to make sure I get everything right this time. It's gonna be a real big day for me!" [F/N] said as she turned back towards the boxes, Feverishly shifting through the contents once more.

Lewin grinned.

"Hah, You and me both.."

The True Cross Festival, The big day. Games, Dances, Fireworks, Food, Festivities. The event that every student in the school had been waiting for ever since they had been accepted into the institution.

Whispers of plans floated through the hallways, Excited chitters leading up to the day. God, [F/N] had been hearing it every second of the day just the week before. And now the big day was finally here.

For many it was a opportunity to ask out their crush due to the entry requirements, To others it was a time to relax and make memories. But to [F/N], It was a prime opportunity to investigate.

"Finally!" She grinned, Opening up another box to find all of her clothes packed neatly inside. Sweaters, Jeans and other types of accessories started to be yanked out of the box and into her arms.

Lewin watched as she piled another few pairs of clothing into her arms, Both for cold and hot weather and even another pair of underwear before hurriedly rushing over her bag and trying to stuff it all inside.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position on the old couch, Yawning lazily as he stretched.

"As I've said- You could really use to loose a few things in there, Ain't this suppose to be something you enjoy?" Lewin yawned once he finally stopped stretching, Staring at her from under his hair as she continued to try push the clothing into the overflowing bag.

"No- It's a way I can get more information about what's going down in there. Like the traitor and the blue night, The things we spoke about-" [F/N] said, Slightly wheezing as she tried to shove and shove everything down in there to no avail. Sweat gathering quicker on her face.

She tried once more, [F/N] pushing down the items on top.

All before she felt the arm of Lewin lightly tug at her wrist, Making her retract it quickly from her bag.

"Hey- What are you-"

"Oh yeah, Definetly overflowing.."

"Lewin- What are you doing?! Hey! Stop touching my stuff!"

"Keeping a few daggers in here? How'd you expect to get past security with all that?"

"Lewin stop it! It took ages to get everything in there! Stop it!"

"Okay, Maybe you can keep the summoning papers.."

"Thank you- HEY! That's my camera, Put it back! Put it back!"

"Aaaand, Ta-da!"

And just like that, The bag that [F/N] had so desperately tried to fill to the brim had depressed almost half it's weight before. Space now very much available inside, Only items spared being her general exorcism stuff and a few new things that Lewin had taken the liberty to throw in.

[F/N]'s jaw was as agape as her eyes, Staring into the new emptiness of her bag that Lewin had dared to meddle in.

"Lew'! Why the hell did you do that?! It took me ages to get everything in there, I need it all if I want to go snoop around in the school! You know, To help me get you evidence?!" [F/N] hissed as she placed her hands on her hips, Angrily staring up at Lewin who still had a lazy smile on his face.

He nodded, Scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, Yeah. And you've been working really hard to do that! I mean you've already helped lead me to one of the traitors, And trust me, I appreciate that a bunch.. But I think you need to calm down." Lewin said.

[F/N] frowned as she looked at him, Aghast in her eyes yet somehow still mellowing out. Just a few months ago he had specifically told her to do some digging, Now he was telling her to stop it?

[F/N] scoffed.

"But.. But wasn't this something you wanted me to do? You know, Investigate? You can't tell me to stop once I've got invested in it too!" [F/N] exclaimed, Stepping closer to him.

Ever since she had the meeting in Mephisto's office, [F/N] had became just as enthralled as Lewin was in the investigation. Ever since she had gotten that horrid feeling about him, [F/N] knew that she needed to dig in more.

Snooping around teachers rooms, Sifting through file cabinets not meant for her. She had already gotten information and passed it over to Lewin, So after all this work how could he just tell her not to go further?

Lewin sighed.

"But I also said that you should get some friends, And hey! You have with all those exwires! I'm just thinking that you spend this time bonding like you kids usually do." Lewin explained as he in turn stepped closer, The two of them now staring eye to eye.

"They're not my friends.. They're just my classmates.." [F/N] said, And even she knew it was a lie.

"Whatever you say, Ya' munchkin. Just go out and have fun, Forget about the investigation for a few hours and I promise I'll let you throw rocks at the traitor I'm about to catch later." Lewin promised, Playfully reaching out a hand with his pinkie stuck up.

[F/N] huffed, Almost about to comment on his childish behaviour before she brushed it off and wrapped a pinkie of her own around his.

"Whatever.. You better keep your promise though, I've been dying to throw rocks at someone for ages now." She pouted, Pinky finger still firmly wrapped around Lewin's own.

He grinned.

"Of course. You just go have fun, Buy me a souvenir and I'll come back and pick you up at ten, Afterwards we'll hit a burger joint and then I'll let you throw rocks at him. Sound good?" Lewin asked.

[F/N] smiled.

"Yeah.." She said, Trying not to show her grin as she shied her view away from him.

And just like that, The hand that Lewin had joined with [F/N]'s pulled her closer. And before [F/N] knew it his thick arms wrapped around her, Bringing her into a hug.

[F/N] was surprised, Muscles tensing up as she felt his head rest atop hers which was currently pushed into the side of his chest. Lewin had not often hugged her before, Never showed much affection other than playful little punches.

But here he was, Bringing her in without restraint. [F/N] barely even cared about his horrible stench, Not when a hand rested on the back of her head, Another on her back. And just maybe, She started to relax.

Only a little.

"Now go scamper outta here, You're gonna miss your bus!" Lewin laughed as he pulled away from her, The silence he had undertaken before now broken. [F/N] was still standing in slight shock, Eyes wide as she looked up at him.

She blinked, Snapping back into reality.

"R-Right!" [F/N] exclaimed, Finally catching eye of the clock on the far wall. [F/N] tried to gather her thoughts once she gathered her stuff, Grabbing her bag strap and tossing it over her shoulder.

"See you soon, Lew'!" [F/N] called out, Finally reaching the door and turning the knob as she stepped out. She waved goodbye to him and he waved back with a lazy smile, Watching as she sprinted out the door.

A yellow raincoat hanging untouched on the hanger by the door.

☆♡☆

"Hey, Guys! Over here!"

The sun was held bright in the sky, A beautiful sight with no clouds to be seen, Just pure cerulean blue.

The uproar of chatter was already in the air, Sounds of people frolicking around the newly made stalls was the only thing in earshot. Rich smells of meat sizzling and the saccharine scent of sugar was also the only thing you could smell, The festival already starting to gain traction.

"Is that [F/N]? I thought she said she wasn't coming?" Konekomaru said, Turning his head as he watched her run over to them, Smiling slightly at being proven wrong.

"Huh? Oh- I guess she changed her mind!"

The air was fresh, [F/N] could tell as it flew behind her as she pranced over to the group standing just outside the entrance to the festivities. Their figures instantly recognisable as she stuttered to a halt in front of them.

"[F/N]! Thought you said you weren't coming?" Shima exclaimed incredulously as he watched her keel over to catch a breath, Eyes wide as he looked her up and down in her sweater and jeans combo.

"Change of plans.. Turns out I can make it after all.." [F/N] wheezed as she wiped the sweat off of her brow, Lungs burning as she raised herself back up to meet the eyes of her group.

Shima, Bon and Konekomaru. The trio of her classmates stood there in their own outfits, Ready for the festival. [F/N] tried to give them the best smile she could, Trying not to make it look like she hadn't dressed like a slob compared to them.

Bon huffed, Folding his arms.

"Seriously? I thought you said that you were gonna study instead since, You know, You failed your last demonic pharmaceuticals test?" He said as he raised a brow, Looking her up and down with that all too familiar judgemental stare.

[F/N] scoffed.

"And miss all the fun? Yeah no, I came to my senses!" [F/N] laughed as she lightly punched Bon on the side of the arm, Who suppressed a smirk as he lightly shoved her back. [F/N] cackled as she stuck out her tongue at him.

Bon rolled his eyes.

"You still need to study!"

"You still need to shut the fuck up!"

"Calm down you two, You're gonna cause a scene!" Konekomaru said, Moving so he was a human-barrier between the two.

Shima shook his head, Dramatically tutting as he looked at the two.

"Yeah, Exactly! You're really killing the mood you know, How am I suppose to get with hot girls if you two are bickering the entire time in the background? I still need to find a girl to get with so I can go to the dance festival later!" Shima whined as he gestured to the crowds packed behind him, All already enjoying the activities of the festival.

"Erm, I'm a girl?" [F/N] said, Gesturing to herself.

"I said hot girls, [F/N]." Shima replied with an innocent smile.

"HEY!"

[F/N] threw an insult back at Shima, To which Shima gave a passive-aggressive response. They barely even noticed when they got dragged off into the festival, Bon groaning as he lugged both [F/N] and Shima along with him, Konekomaru trying his best to calm the two down.

Only snapped out of it once the blaring noise caught up with her, A light shove by Bon and the smell of enticing meats. Blinking once she realised she was surrounded by a crowd and hundreds of stalls that seemed to muddle on the horizon.

She gulped, Sweat running down her brow with a slight smile.

This was gonna be a long day.

☆♡☆

"Aw man.. Never thought I'd say this, But it's good to get away from all the noise.. Huh?"

The sky was dark, Coloured the deepest of ebony blues and starless with all the light below. Unlike the morning there was a noticeable chill in the air, Either due to the passing time or the new altitude which the two had reached.

That saccharine scent was still lingering in the air, Beautiful tastes of all the food she had eaten still on her tongue. It was all so overwhelming to her, Even now as she stared down at the lights of the stalls did she still feel a rush.

One thing to the next, Perpetual motion. [F/N] had moved from stall to stall, Done party game after party game, Went through every classes activity set up from the festival and had laughed and screamed all the same.

They had met with Rin at his food stall and laughed along with him, They had went through the horror house and had gotten a good laugh when she watched Shima get scared by Shiemi. Izumo too they had passed not even a few minutes ago, Still lingering close by.

They had also lost Bon and Konekomaru somewhere else in the crowd, Konekomaru most likely going to talk with his date and Bon could be just about anywhere. So now it was just Shima and her, After everything that happened..

Dizzying, [F/N] felt. She sipped on the straw of the chocolate shake and let the taste try to calm her, Still cold in her hands and dripping down moisture from the sides. It helped, If only a little bit.

"You could say that again.. I mean, How many girls did you try to ask out?" [F/N] said to Shima as she lightly strolled beside him, High above the stalls in the higher part of the city. Looking lightly over the stone balcony to all the chaos below.

"Ugh! I can't even count and I usually always make sure to remember all the pretty faces I talk to!" Shima exasperated as he dragged his feet alongside her, Seemingly just as worn out from the celebrations as she was.

[F/N] rolled her eyes, Continuing to slurp on her milkshake.

"Just how much stuff I bought on it's own..! You know, My master insisted on emptying my bag before I got here and I'm actually kinda glad he did, Otherwise I wouldn't be able to carry all this.." [F/N] sighed as she readjusted the heaving backpack weighing her down, All stuffed to the brim with all the merchandise she knew her and Lewin would like.

He had slipped his card into her backpack, Something she had found out when rummaging through it. He had trusted her enough to spend his money wisely, Or more accurately trusted her to spend as much of his six-figure salary as she possibly could.

[F/N] smiled, Quietly thanking Lewin under her breath.

"..You and Lightning close?"

"Where'd that come from?" [F/N] asked as she turned to Shima, Who seemed to look back at her with a much more curious expression under the nights sky. Shima just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno, I guess I'm just curious is all. Since you were already his apprentice before joining cram school or whatever, You two related or something?" Shima asked as they made their way towards the balcony, The one overlooking the sea of lights below and where the wind flowed openly.

[F/N] huffed as she continued to drink her milkshake, Leaning over on the stone railings to look out below.

"Not biologically, No. But you know that trope you see in movies? The dickhead older brother who always messes with your stuff and annoys you to high hell? Yeah, That's him." [F/N] said, Rolling her eyes with a slight smirk.

Shima smiled rather forlornly as he leaned over on the balcony like she did, Light reflecting in his eyes.

"Yeah, I get that." He laughed slightly.

"Ah, Okay. Cause of all your brothers, Right?" [F/N] asked as she drew her eyes off the crowds for only a moment, Just to see Shima stare right back off into it. He didn't smile, Just nodded slowly.

He didn't speak either, The smile drawn on [F/N]'s face starting to lessen at the sound of silence. Instead she just brought her eyes back over to the sea of lights, Looking at the crowds below enjoying the festivities.

[F/N] sipped on her milkshake, Tasting the chocolate on her tongue. She should have known that his brothers would've been something difficult to talk about, Ever since the trip to Kyoto she had known something was off.

Especially since the death of the eldest, [F/N] should've taken that as the first sign. She continued sipping on her milkshake, A sort of scratchiness starting to build up in her throat. Shima never really talked about his brothers, Not here nor there.

[F/N] continued to sip on her milkshake, The lights starting to become much more.. Bright. Her nose scrunched up as she turned her head up to meet Shima, Who now seemed to be looking back down at her.

He smiled, Almost awkwardly.

"..Shima, I don't feel so good." [F/N] told him as she finally removed the straw from her mouth, Looking at her milkshake with a sort of queasiness in her eyes. A lightness in her head, A new stutter when she tried to stand.

What was happening? Her fingers started to shake, The muscles much more relaxed than they were suppose to be as the milkshake fell to the floor and splattered across the rocks. She stumbled, [F/N] starting to see two of each in her vision.

Shima hummed, Watching her gait with an unconcerned gaze.

"That must be the Rophynol finally kicking in then." He replied casually as he watched her start to double over.

[F/N] raised her head weakly as she near doubled over, Stumbling back as she stared at him with wide eyes. What little gathered conscious she had left recalled that drug, As clear as day she knew what it was.

Rophynol, Otherwise known as the date-rape drug.

Causes symptoms of confusion, Dizziness, Drowsiness, Lack of coordination, Loss of motor control and slurred speech. Often used by scummy people to knock out an unwilling victim, Usually for the purpose of..

Oh,

Oh fuck.

"Get- Get.. Get away.. Away!" [F/N] tried to yell but it came out as a wheeze, Stumbling back, Almost tripping over on her own feet. It felt like the world was spinning around her, Shaking around like it was encased in a snow globe.

There was no one around to help her, Everyone was so enthralled by the entertainment below that no one dared to come up here. Everyone except her and Shima, No one else around to hear her pleads for help.

Her eyes were wild as she looked at him, Like a cornered animal ready to bite.

His was casual, Looking at her with some synthetic sympathy.

"Don't worry, It's not what you're thinking. I'm not that much of a creep! I slipped it into your shake when you weren't looking earlier, Sorry 'bout this but my boss said that I was to return with you unharmed so.. Had to get creative with how I got you and all!" Shima laughed as he scratched the back of his head, Smiling innocently as if nothing was wrong.

[F/N] wheezed.

What? What was he saying? Who was.. Who was he talking..?

Illuminati.

[F/N] couldn't.. Couldn't get.. Get away. Get away. She needed to get away, Run.. Run away. Lewin, She needed to get Lewin.. Something was.. Something..

Shima got up from his leaning position on the balcony, Slightly stretching with a small yawn as he did.

"Alright, [F/N]. I'm gonna need you to come with me now, Okay? I ain't going to hurt you, My boss would kill me if I did!" He joked as he strolled towards her almost convulsing body, Her eyes untamed and barbaric.

His hands reached out, And in that moment [F/N] cried out.

"Ah-!" Shima yelped out once he felt a slice of what felt like a knife cross his cheek, A searing pain starting to settle into his skin. Blood spurted out from the paper-cut like wound, Muscles tensing.

In [F/N]'s shaky hands was a summoning paper, In her stupor somehow able to pull them out and cut her thumb.

Sylphs floated around her, Glowing an angry luminescent blue and the air around them much fresher than before, Angry faces starting to dart towards him like arrows.

"Aha-! You really are impressive, Should've expected as much from an Arc Knight's apprentice!" Shima complimented in a swift moment, Pulling out his k'rik from within a pocket of his suit and extending it to it's full length.

The gold gleamed in the air, The hoops on the end rattling as he slammed it down towards the oncoming sylphs.

But it stopped.

Before the end of his staff could hit the floor, The fresh air emitted by the sylphs had vanished from the sight. Shima paused in his movements, Eyes raising up to realise that they had disappeared entirely.

He blinked, Sight lowering down.

[F/N] laid fallen upon the rocky pavement, Mouth ajar and dripping in her own saliva. Eyes rolled up to their whites as she convulsed on the floor. The sylphs gone with her, Disappeared once she had finally fallen unconscious.

Shima let out the biggest sigh of his life.

Luckily he didn't need to deal with [F/N], Who had already shown skill incredible and insanely difficult to deal with talents in taming. It would've been impossible to capture her without any sedative, And he needed this to go smoothly.

He still had to find Izumo, Of course!

☆♡☆

"Honey..?!"

"Daddy!!"

The cries of the mans family called out from behind him, Echoing up and out of the dingy stairwell they stood in.

It was cold, Frigid even. If it wasn't for the welcoming warmth outside it could've been mistaken for the winter, Mostly due to the freezer-like chill and the damp dripping conditions around them.

The bloody and beaten man was knelt towards the floor, Keeled and prostrated before The Paladin, An Arc Knight and an entire legion of exorcists, All surrounding him like a pack of dogs ready to snap and bite down onto his flesh.

"We're only getting started now.. As you can see, Your task has ended in failure." Lewin mused as he stood before the shaking man, A grin on his face as he almost looked fascinated by the dribble of blood spurting out from his wounds.

"Could you quickly tell us what's on at the big event?" His family, Terrified and shaking, They called out to him in horror. Lewin paid them no mind as he moved forward, Bending his knees and crouching down towards him.

The man still had his own ichor dripping down his face, Iron tasted teeth turning into a snarl.

"Monster!" He barked, Blood splattering onto the floor in front of him.

"Uh oh! Should you be using such an attitude?" Lewin laughed with a child-like smile as he lowered closer to the man, A gleam in his eyes as he spoke. "I'm gonna have to ask your wife and son!"

The mans bloodshot eyes widened at that, Flicking back from Lewin to his family in the matter of seconds. Blood poured out of his mouth faster than his expression turned sour, Horrified as he watched his family be restrained by a group of exorcists.

He shook his head, Eyes agape as they connected with his wife's.

"Don't.. They don't know anything!" The traitor sputtered as he turned back to face Lewin, Who smiled all the same at him. His wife and son, His pride and joy. They wouldn't.. They wouldn't dare…

Would they?

Lewin chuckled as his eyes seemed to part from under his hair, His elongated pupils and a gleam sharper than a sword in his eyes. The man only watched in horror, Listening to him as he spoke.

"Why bother acting like a good guy now?" Lewin asked as he examined him from his bloody head to severed toes. That sadistic smile downturned, Much more malicious now. "Both of us are monsters in this regard. Cut it out."

Lewin turned his head to meet the eyes of the mans family.

"Then.. Shall we start?" Lewin asked and suddenly the group of exorcists started to pull and manhandle the mans kin, Hands on their shoulders starting to tug them back. Their eyes widening, Struggling to no avail within the hands of the exorcists.

The man gasped.

"Daddy!" His son called out, Terrified face already bursting with tears.

"W-What are you doing..?!" The traitor called out. His expression petrified as he watched his family start to be dragged away into the sea of exorcists surrounding them, His wife wailing as she tried to call out for her son, Her husband all the while yelling for them to take their hands off her.

The man cried.

"W-We're kidnapping two girls hiding within the Japanese division, Both within the hour!" He called out as Lewin raised to his feet, The man watching him with both ire and fear in his eyes. "They're important for our organisation and our goals!"

Lewin frowned, Looking down at the man as he had finally given him the information he had wanted to know. He hummed, Resting his hands on his hips.

"Their names are?" He asked as he looked down at him.

The traitor gulped, Tasting his own blood.

"Izumo Kamiki..!" He rasped. Lewin stepped closer, Almost urging him to go on as the entire exorcist legion listened on.

"..And [F/N] Light!"

Lewin's heart stopped.

☆♡☆

A blinding white muffled by blurred vision, That was all [F/N] could see.

It felt like she was on a ship sailing on a billowing sea, Waves rocking the boat back and forth along the waves as seafoam sloshed at the sides. Rainy too, Pattering against the wild wind of the sails and the rickety wood of the body.

[F/N] wasn't in control of the wheel, Not able to steer her way through the rushing waves or the inky black of the clouds above. She wasn't able to see either, The rain too thick and the wind too fast to even see a proper route out.

Lewin.. Where was her brother?

Her eyelids raised, Though heavy and numb she managed to wretch them open. That blinding white became so much more prominent, So much more scorching to her eyes as she groaned at the sudden light.

"Ah.. You're awake."

A voice like stricken thunder shook her awake, Her eyes becoming lightweight as they shot open to come face to face with a blindingly bright room. Her body felt numb, Unbelievably so. As she rolled her shoulders she barely felt the cushions against them, Nor the clothes it pushed against.

[F/N] groaned, Her heart beginning to pound in her chest especially once she saw a humanoid blur come into focus. It seemed to sit across from her on what appeared to be.. A rather antique looking couch?

"L-Lew.. Lewin..?" [F/N] mumbled out. Her mind in shambles and her vision unfocused. What happened to her? Did she pass out on the couch? Did Lewin carry her home? [F/N] sniffled slightly, Head spinning as she tried to focus her vision.

"You must be confused.. I understand. Your body must be aching, I understand that too. I apologise for the way we had extracted you.. However it was deemed to be the most painless out of our options.." What?

That didn't sound like Lewin. That didn't sound like the jovial tune that sung every time he spoke. It sounded much more delicate, Much more bleak. [F/N] didn't recognise that voice, It certainly wasn't Lewin.

Opening her eyes a bit further, She tried to see through the blinding light.

"W-Who are..-"

Her eyes finally focused on a man sitting adjacent from her, Upon a rather expensive looking couch from the renaissance era. [F/N]'s breath hitched in her throat, Eyes widening, Not caring about the light now-

It was a man.

[F/N] felt her heart stop entirely at the sight of him, Her mouth growing dry. He sat right in front of her on the opposite couch, One leg over the other with posture that could make an old lord envious.

His hair was a beautiful blonde, One that shone white under the candle-light of the candelabra above. His eyes a glorious viridian like the tailfeathers of a rosella, Pupils cut down into slits stared at her with a soft gleam-

He was a demon.

[F/N] wanted to run.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you.. [F/N]. This meeting is long overdue.."

She felt a wave of unease wash over her, Something was incredibly- Incredibly wrong. It wasn't the way he sat or the way he looked- No- It wasn't even the evident rot festering on his skin.

But it was just the air he gave off, So subtly overwhelming. A pit in her stomach forming as she looked at him closer and closer. He presented himself as dignified, As angelic even- But something about that just made [F/N] want to turn her head and puke-

He wasn't right. He was off-

[F/N] felt bile rise in the back of her throat.

"My name is Lucifer, Commander of The Illuminati and The King of Light." Lucifer spoke, His emerald eyes gleaming under the luminescence.

[F/N]'s heart stopped.

Her hands grasped the edges of the couch she sat on with a grip that could crush stone. The.. The King of Light? Lucifer? It couldn't be. But every cell, Every molecule, Every atom was screaming at her to run-

Something that could only be achieved by such accursed royalty.

"You are currently sitting within my estate, Again, I apologise for your rather abrupt summoning here." Lucifer spoke up once more as he slowly rested one of his legs over another, A hand gesturing towards the table. "Please, Feel free to indulge. These were specifically procured to your taste, You do enjoy sugar, Correct?"

[F/N] didn't want to eat, She wanted to puke. Her throat was dry yet she could do little but reach a trembling hand over to the collection of treats upon the table top. Trays of tarts, Plates stacked with parfait all on this antique little table.

Her fingers fumbling before grasping a macaroon, Her eyes never leaving the demon sitting across from her.

[F/N] couldn't even think.

Lucifer's face never changed. Never ticked, Never twitched. Watching calmly as she began to nibble on the outer shell of the macaroon, The one that happened to be the same flavour she had grown to favour. A gentle hum erupted from his throat.

[F/N] flinched.

"Is it to your liking?" Lucifer asks her, His expression unmoving as [F/N] froze up on the spot. [F/N] felt her mind race at such a simple question, Swallowing back what little of the macaroon she had ingested.

Don't be scared- Don't- Just don't try to look him in the eye- His eyes- Just don't-

"..Y-Yes- Uhm-" [F/N] blurted out. It came out hoarse as her hand darted up to pat her throat, Her jugular tensing.

"Homare." Lucifer called out, His voice a little louder than the melodious tone he held before. [F/N]'s eyes darted to her right as she heard firm, But swift footsteps make their way over to the table.

CLANK!

[F/N] gulped. Two tea cups were placed onto the table. Liquid pouring. A petite woman standing by [F/N]'s side with an ornate porcelain teapot in hand, Contrasted by the adorned look on her Illuminati uniform.

When did get she here?

Homare didn't look at [F/N] at all, Her eyes kept on the from behind her glasses. Lips thinned in a tight line. As she finished pouring the liquid, [F/N] quickly took the teacup. Anything to avoid his eyeline.

"You must be wondering why you're here." Lucifer spoke up once more, Homare's presence going ignored as she began to pour the simmering hot tea into the second cup. [F/N] bit her lip.

"L-Listen- I don't have any information to give you." [F/N] quickly said, Her words blurring together. "I don't- I don't get that kind of access. I've never been to- I've never even been to Italy..! I-"

"You are not here for information, We are aware you aren't privy to that kind of information." Lucifer cut in calmly as Homare finished pouring the tea into his cup, Gently picking it up as she drew back away from them, Somewhere back into the room.

[F/N] gulped.

"T-Then why-"

"You've caused quite a stir in Gehenna, Though I'm sure you are aware of that by now." Lucifer spoke, Taking a sip of his tea. "Even amongst my siblings, The other kings, You've made quite an impression on them."

Lucifer lowered the teacup from his lips, His eyelids fluttering as he set it down amongst the array of desserts on the table. Irises flicking back

"I have been hearing about you for quite a long time.. Ever since Astaroth had returned speaking of a little human girl who had caused his vessel's heart to start beating.." Lucifer trailed off, For once, His eyes narrowed. "I had excused it as the delusion brought on by his rapidly decaying body.. But then it was Iblis and Egyn.. Who both haven't stopped mentioning you, Even to this day.."

[F/N]'s grip on the tea cup tightened as he continued on, Memories of the day she had met the pair of kings flashing in her mind. They had remembered her, They didn't let go- Her penchant-

This was what Azazel had warned her about.

"I've been wanting to meet you, You see." Lucifer spoke, A glint appearing in the shimmer of his eyes. "Your.. Penchant, As you call it, I want you to explain it to me. Tell me how you inflict it on other demons, As it has become rather troubling.. Tell me, How do you make them believe they feel human love?"

[F/N] wanted to scoff, She really did.

Human love? As if such a creature could comprehend it.

Human love was gentle, Human love was passionate, Yet there was no string of words to ever describe it. You could call it kind, You could call it exciting. Bonding, Connecting, Warming.

But none of these were ever things such a monster could understand.

"I.. I-I don't know- I can't control it." [F/N] tried to explain, Ashamed of the terror rushing through her veins as she tried to make sense of her words. "I-It's not like I'm doing it on purpose- It just happens when I meet them, That- That somehow they just become more.. Friendly..?"

The word friendly tasted like venom on her tongue.

"I-I don't know how to explain it- I don't know how it happens. Just.." [F/N] took in a shaky breath, Raising her head up to him, Humiliated by what she was about to do. "P-Please, Let me go. I just want to go home- I don't have anything to give you just..! Please.."

Begging.

It made her feel disgusting.

But she needed to get out of here, Out of here before he became affected too.

Lucifer hummed, Unaffected by her words as he leaned back on the couch he was sitting in. He had picked up his tea again and began to sip on it once more, His body still tense, The rot on his skin continuing to fester.

"So you can't control it.." Lucifer mumbled as he peered down at the liquid circling in his teacup. [F/N] was sat on baited breath. Well aware of the eyes on her, The body guards, The Illuminati members that she was unable to see stationed about the room.

"N-No..- So could you please just.. Please let me go." [F/N] spoke quietly, Yet desperately, Trying her best to convince The King of Light to let her go. Like a mouse begging a cat to let it out from in-between it's claws.

Lucifer didn't respond. Just sat there. Staring down at his tea.

"P-Please.. I'm only an exwire, I couldn't do anything even if I tried-" The grip on the teacup handle tightened.

[F/N] cut herself off as she watched his jaw tighten, Shoulders squaring, The teacup beginning to shake from the sheer grasp he had on the handle.

"Commander..!"

CRASH!

[F/N]'s eyes widened as she watched the teacup slip from his fingers, Shattering on impact at the edge of the table. Lucifer groaned under his breath, Keeling over, His trembling gloved fingers grasping the ledge of the table.

Homare, The woman from before rushing over to his side followed by a small fleet of guards. [F/N] pushed herself back in suprise, Hadn't expecting the crowd as they rushed to their superiors side.

"What the-"

"It appears this body is much weaker than I had thought..-"

Lucifer grasped the side of his cheek, Where [F/N] watched as the decay visibly grew. She felt her eyes widen as Homare helped steady him. Her attention focused on him and only him, Her lips thinned. [F/N] blinked.

Was this her chance?

Demon Kings, Their bodies unable to handle their strength, Decaying faster the bigger they are. It was only correct that the strongest amongst them would be in constant pain, Constant torture.

She knew what she needed to do- To try.

[F/N] slowly released her grip on the couch. Lucifer keeled over, His guards and right-hand focused soley on him. Nudging herself to the side, Further, A little more. [F/N] needed to find summoning paper, Or at least something to prick her thumb-

[F/N] didn't expect to get far, Not without her dear sylphs-

CRASH!

[F/N] yelped.

Trays and platters fell to the floor, The desserts crumbling against the floor to make way for the arm that lunged out from amongst the small group. A hand grasped onto her wrist. A thinning, Shaky, Sickly hand with such unbelievable strength.

A pair of green eyes were illuminated through the parting of silvery hair, Wide, Staring at her. His instincts and his reflexes unmatched. [F/N] stared into them, Her throat going dry-

"Do not move-"

THUMP!

It was like a pin had been dropped in a silent room, Or a scream erupting within a library. It was the kind of thing that could be felt from miles away, Like the devastation of a tsunami or the the heat scorching off the sun.

And it was without any noise, Not much anyway.

His hand let go. [F/N] pushed herself back onto the couch, Her legs almost kicking in her scurry, Trying to get as far away from him as possible.

THUMP!

She knew what had happened when Lucifer had gasped for air, Like a drowning man taking his first breath of air. When his face moved like it had muscles underneath, Not tin and clockwork.

The guards all made barks of concern as he collapsed back onto the couch. Body jerking. His eyes wide as he stared up at the ceiling, Heaving, His chest raising up and down at an unnatural pace. His expression, It was-

"Commander..! Are you..-!"

"T-This heart.. This.." Lucifer breathed, In and out, His body splayed against the couch as his eyes lit up. The words of Homare went completely ignored. "This vessel-! T-This body..!"

Lucifer's hands grasped his vessel, One grasping the fabric and flesh covering his heart and the other almost frantically trailing up the rot that festered on the side of his face. His breathing ragged, Yet his body calm and almost relaxed.

"Commander..?" Homare's eyes widened as she watched him, Raising up as her eyes stared on with confusion. Lucifer grasped his chest, Where his heart was, His breathing slowing. Calming. If only a bit.

He shuddered, An audible shiver running down his spine. The fleet of guards stepped away from him, All looking at one and other at the scene. It was almost like his body had melted into the cushions, Relaxing, Like the numb procured from a good night's sleep.

"This body..!" Lucifer breathed out, His eyes aglow as he stared up at the ceiling above. His hand shook where it grasped his heart, The organ that began to thump. "There is no pain- I- What is.. It feels.. Good- No. It feels great..!"

Lucifer stirred, His head almost lolling to the side as he sat forward on the couch. His eyes looked almost dizzy, And if not for his unsightly self-control he would've collapsed right back onto the cushions.

[F/N] flinched when his head raised.

He was affected.

Lucifer's eyes snapped onto her, Widening, Watching.

"You..-!"

His voice sounded like he was parched, His eyes lighting up when he finally drew his attention back to her.

[F/N] could only yelp once she was yanked forward. When those hands grasped onto her wrists and tugged her forward. She almost collapsed over the table and the fallen trays, Barely grasping onto the edge to save herself.

"T-This was it..! I understand it now.. What my siblings were raving about, This is it..!" Lucifer rasped as he pulled her closer with such unthinkable strength, His stare scorching, Looking down at her- "You.. I understand now, Why they were so enthralled by you- I understand-!"

[F/N] yelped.

"No- No- NO-!" [F/N] yelled out, Unable to take it anymore. She cried out. Trying to yank her arm away from him to no avail. Lucifer only tightened his grip around her wrist. Painful, Almost bruising her skin.

"You..! You stay right there-!" Homare called out, A hiss in her voice as she quickly took charge and grasped onto [F/N]'s shoulder, Keeping her in place. [F/N] struggled, Trying her very best to get out of the woman's grasp but it was futile.

"L-Let go-!"

"Please.. Come closer." Lucifer almost begged, His voice quiet yet pleading as he relented the grasp he had on her to beckon her towards him.

Was the space between them too much? The two foot wide gap? [F/N] felt tears begin to prick in her eyes, Pure hatred running through her veins as Homare wrestled her up to her feet and began to shepherd her around the table.

She almost slipped on the polish of the wood, Trying to kick her way out of Homare's hold.

But it was useless.

[F/N] felt herself get pushed down onto the opposite couch, Her back hitting the cushions as a chill ran down her spine. Whenever this happened, Whenever another demon king got affected by her penchant she had always found a way out. To run or fight, She had always found a way out of here.

She always had. Always. Even now there was a way out, Wasn't there? There must be- Surely-

"There you are.. That is much better.." Lucifer spoke out, His voice returning to that gentle lilt though there was an undeniable warmth to it now. His eyes gleaming, Sitting there beside her, Facing her, His attention unwavering.

"Don't- Don't touch me-!" [F/N] cried out, Tears starting to trickle down her cheeks as Lucifer took them into his gloved palms. His touch was freezing, Even through the silky fabric.

It was enveloping too, His grasp a little too tight. How could she get out? How could she escape? His grasp make her skin feel dead and embalmed. The guards surrounded them, Homare especially keeping her eyes trained on [F/N] for any sudden movements.

Fuck. [F/N] trembled. There was no way she'd be able to get away, There was no chance. [F/N]'s reddening eyes were wide, Unable to remove them from Lucifer's. Tears falling down her face, Sizzling at her skin.

How could she get away? In the end she was still just a girl.

The same girl refused to follow her friend into the forest.

Oh, Who was [F/N] kidding?

She was still a kid.

A stupid, Scared, Sniffling little kid.

"No.. No. Why are you crying?" Lucifer asked quietly, Eyes narrowing. His thumb rubbing circles into the skin of her cheek. Wiping away the tears that erupted from her ducts. "It.. Does not feel good to see.. Tell me, What is it that you want? What will make you stop?"

[F/N] hiccupped.

"To go home-! Let me go home-!"

"-No. Anything but that." Lucifer answered quickly, His lips thinning. His hands holding her face growing tighter at her words. "I'll give you anything else.. You see, This vessel.. I have never been able to exist a moment in this world without pain.. An ache that never dissolved, Not until now.."

Lucifer's voice almost shook, The euphoria of normalcy was overwhelming, Overtaking. It was something he could feel in his very being. [F/N] hiccupped, Her throat aching.

Lucifer parted his eyes from hers for only a moment, Glancing up at his right-hand.

"Homare.. Please summon a cleaner to fix this mess as well as more tea." Lucifer ordered firmly, Still gripping [F/N]'s crying face in his hands as Homare saluted and bowed, Barking out a "Yes, Sir..!" before quickly making her way towards the rooms pair of doors.

It was only once they opened and shut did Lucifer return his gaze towards her. Such a sickening, Burning gaze.

It was calculating, Thinking, Asking himself what he was to do.

"Now.."

Tears continued to run down her face even when she was tugged closer. Gently, Yet firm as she felt his arms awkwardly rest around her in what could only be described as an android's attempt at a hug.

His movements were stiff, His limbs not use to the action he was doing. An arm around her back with another on the back of her head. He had leant down, Her head resting on his shoulder. It was if he was trying to mimic what others have done before, A fraudulent copy of what usually was such a genuine action.

[F/N] didn't even fight back, Not when she felt the stare of the entire guard on her back.

"..Does this make you feel better?" Lucifer asked after a moment, His head resting atop hers. [F/N] still shook in his grasp, His cold and mechanic grasp. Feeling his fingers weave themselves into her hair, Firmer than what she expected.

Awkward, But firm enough to ensure she would be unable to get out.

It didn't make her feel better, Not in the slightest. [F/N] tried her best to calm herself down, To think rationally. To imagine that she was hugging someone she actually loved, Like Lewin or Osceola or her friends from the cram school.

Friends, They really were her friends.

[F/N] sniffled, Trying to imagine she was with them and not Lucifer right now. Imagining the smell of ash in the classroom, The obnoxiously coloured halls, The echoing chatter that bounced around the room.

[F/N] missed them. Her friends. Her actual friends. She had companions for once in her life. She had a network, A system she could rely on when she fell, Knowing that they would help her get back up.

[F/N] hoped they were coming for her, To help her get out of here. Anywhere but here, Anywhere.

"Commander."

Homare had returned, Had it been that long? [F/N] saw her standing there through the blur of her tears, Arms positioned behind her back and her eyes a little bit wider than they were before.

There was no tray of tea in her hands like she was ordered to bring.

[F/N]'s eyes widened.

A sudden chill washing over her.

"Commander, I apologise for returning so quickly however I've just been informed that we have- Erm.. Guests." Homare coughed on the last part, Almost as if figuring out how to put it.

Readjusting her glasses she spoke once again.

"The other demon kings, They are here."

[F/N] felt her heart stop.

The demon kings.. They..

They were here?

Lucifer let go of [F/N] however reluctantly, Releasing her from his hold. He pushed himself up to his feet and readjusted his uniform, Settling the velvet of his cape back over his shoulders as he turned to face Homare.

"I had expected this much.. I can sense their presence already.." Lucifer spoke calmly as he dusted himself off. "Not just Astaroth, Iblis and Egyn.. I can sense that Beelzebub, Amaimon and Samael are here as well.."

"Yes, Commander. They are currently standing within the foyer as we speak, They are currently waiting for you."

"Is Samael willing to talk?"

"Yes, I believe he was the one that alerted Beelzebub and Amaimon here. He has not came with anyone from The Order."

"I see. Good."

[F/N] felt her heart near explode. The kings, Demons, The worst of them all.

They were here.

A cold sweat covered her skin worse than it had before, Tears and snot dribbling down her face even harder. All of them, The ones she had met over the years, They had never forgotten her and now they were here.

[F/N] couldn't fight, Couldn't scream, She couldn't run anymore like she had done so many times in the past.

This was it.

There was no escaping now.

"Prepare the master dining room for a feast, Summon the cooks to prepare food however last-minute. Whatever they deem is best."

"How many chairs, Commander?"

"Nine. I can sense Azazel has recently found himself a vessel, He should be arriving rather late but make room for him anyways."

Lucifer turned to her, The emerald in his eyes glinting as he looked down at her. That expression, The one of calm and collected demeanour holding something else now. Something much darker than his title suggested.

He turned to her, Examining her from head to toe.

"I suppose there would be no time to fix your appearance, Unfortunately. I don't believe that our siblings would stay patient much longer.." Lucifer remarked as he looked at her, Frozen there, Terrified out of her mind.

He turned to face her now, Homare already running off to complete her order. Lucifer looked at her from head to toe, At her expression of gritted teeth and sweat building on her brow.

Lucifer almost sighed.

"And I don't suppose you would come peacefully to the dining room either. You are still shaken from the unorthodox way I brought you here, Not to mention that I've heard you have a rather troublesome distaste for us demons." Lucifer almost lamented as he looked down at her.

He took a step forward, His hand raising in the air.

"Ah.. It's no matter. Today you have shown me how it feels to exist without pain, Without weakness." Lucifer spoke, Grateful, His words were dripping in it. "Even now I feel the beating of this vessel's heart, What a wonderous feeling. I understand what the rest of our siblings meant when they had told me.. And I thank you for that."

All of a sudden, He snapped his fingers.

[F/N] only heard the quick sounds of footsteps, Hundreds, Thousands. Echoing and ringing in her ears as she was hefted up to her feet. An arm under each of her pits, Carrying her, Holding her up with such daze in her expression.

Lucifer's gaze almost softened.

"This is familial love, Is it not? Even such a demon as I can be affected by it, By you." Lucifer spoke, So eerily, Dreamily. As the guards surrounding her began to take her away, Her mind in shambles with no more tears left to cry.

[F/N] felt her feet drag against the floor, Mind yelling at her- Screaming as she heard a door open.

Wishing this was all just a dream.

A ghost of a smile appeared across Lucifer's face, Only fitting on such a lifeless being.

"Don't try to fight or run, [F/N]. You may not favour demons, But as our newest sibling, You are sure to learn how to see things our way. However long it takes. Please, Try to behave yourself, Will you?"

The door slammed shut.

And suddenly, Everything turned black.

35 notes · View notes

something-tofightfor · 1 year

Text

All I Ever Needed

Pairing: Joel Miller x female reader (Just Too Good To Be Gone pairing)

Word count: 12,330

Rating: NSFW / E. You’ve been warned.

Warnings: Spoilers for the end of TLOU / TLOU season 1 - and the timeline that follows before the 2nd game.

Summary: While on patrol and looking for the source of a distress call received by Jackson, you and Joel take a much needed detour.

Author’s Note: Six and a half months later, and here we are with a Joel story that I’ve been picking away at the entire time. Sorry I stepped away for so long but now that this is done ... all bets are off.

This takes place just before TLOU 2′s timeline begins, and if you’re familiar with that, you’ll understand the significance of something mentioned in this story.

This was directly influenced by conversations I had with @stealyourblorbos, who encouraged me by providing some of the most *appealing* Joel visuals... so I hope you enjoy it, Jules.

Fun fact: the location mentioned in this chapter actually exists, but the way it looks today is much different than it was in 2013 - see the link on the masterlist for more info!

To get alerted when I post new chapters/stories, follow @somethingtofightfor-shares and turn on post notifications - you can also ask to be added to my tag list (link in bio or at the top of my taglist reblog)

Just Too Good To Be Gone Masterlist

Song Suggestion: “Enjoy The Silence” by Depeche Mode

“We should find somewhere to spend the night.”

Looking to your left, you watched as he eyed the road in front of you, his horse’s reins held tightly between his gloved fingers. As always, Joel was entirely focused on what he was doing, the man on alert despite the fact that his posture was loose and you hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary in hours. Not hours, days.

“There are some houses at the 89/191 split, but a lot of ‘em are on the other side of the river, and I’m not sure we can cross.”

He turned his head to look at you, the man’s eyes sliding over your face and then down before they rose once more. “We just need a roof and some dry wood to build a fire. We’ll find something.” You knew that he was right - that even if it was little more than the hollowed out husk of a gas station or one of the small houses, you and Joel would make do together - because you always did. “That leaves what, ten miles to get back tomorrow?”

“A little under fifteen, actually.” Shivering at a sudden gust of wind, you nodded. “There should be a place for the horses there, too, just to keep them from being in the open.” He nodded once, in reply, a knit hat pulled down low over his ears. With a quiet click of your tongue, you eased your horse to a slightly faster gait, Joel following suit as he caught up.

You were out on a long patrol, but that was nothing new for either of you. Tommy and Maria felt comfortable sending you further south than anyone usually went - Jackson to Bondurant, the two of you searching for the source of a call for help that had come in over the radio a few days earlier.

You’d found nothing, despite a thorough search of the area. After a day of exploration, you decided to head back, armed with the knowledge that even though you hadn’t found anyone, all of the bridges and roads you’d traveled were still intact, even after the brutal winter you’d experienced.

It was still cold - the thick blanket of snow on the ground just beginning to melt in places, ice in patches making it important to carefully lead the horses each steep of the way. But the company was good, and you weren’t about to complain.

Especially when Joel broke the silence of the ride with quiet humming and occasionally sang a few verses from the songs, too. Especially since you knew that when you did stop for the night, you’d have the warmth of him to lean into until morning, the two of you trading off shifts of wakefulness and sleep until it was time to head back to Jackson.

It had been four days on the road together. Even though being near him in the quiet of Wyoming’s rolling hills and valleys with the Tetons as your backdrop wasn’t much different than being with him in Jackson, you liked it.

You liked the quiet and calm. You liked the solitude. You liked the fact that it was just you and Joel, and that while he could have had anyone else go with him on the patrol, he’d asked for you.

It wasn’t a surprise, but it still made you feel good about yourself - about the fact that he considered you an asset to the assignment, that he trusted you to take care of yourself and him if necessary.

And you knew that there was more to it, too. You knew that if you had found the people that you’d picked up the call from, he’d wanted a face friendlier than his to be present - someone that would inspire trust and decrease concern in strangers in a way that even after a few years in Jackson, Joel couldn’t.

But the point was moot because you’d found nothing. Even though the two of you had been wary of the distress call being a trap, it didn’t seem like it had been. You hoped that whoever had called had found safety, and that they were alright - that you wouldn’t be finding bodies during further patrols after the spring thaw. They probably aren’t, you admitted to yourself as you passed a sign for Hoback Junction, the tiny town coming into view on your left.

Neither of you spoke as you bypassed the first section of it, Joel raising one arm and pointing to your right and the remains of a gas station and market. You’d stopped there a few times in the years before you’d known Joel, and it didn’t look any worse than it had then, aside from the increasingly weathered appearance of long abandoned vehicles.

A few minutes later, Joel dismounted, telling you to stay on your horse, his voice quiet enough that you barely heard it. He handed over the reins and reached for the gun he kept tucked into his waistband, but you weren’t worried. Maybe we can sleep upstairs.

You eyed the building as he advanced toward it. He kept the gun held loosely in one hand, his steps careful and measured. The market had been on the bottom level, and though the contents were long since gone and cleared out, there were a few rooms upstairs that had proven useful in the past when it came to staying there overnight out of necessity.

They offered little more than a bed and a roof, but the heat from the two of you and your sleeping bags would keep you much warmer than being outside would, even if a fire wasn’t possible. And we wouldn’t have to keep watch because we could just drag the mattress against the door.

The twinge of unease you felt as you watched Joel’s broad shoulders disappear through the main doors turned into a quiet anxiety for the long moments he was gone. The feeling buzzed in your chest and gave you the urge to reach for your gun, too. But when he reappeared a few minutes later, his weapon lowered, you knew that you could finally relax. “All clear.”

He rolled his shoulders out as he headed back for you, pointing over his shoulder with one thumb. “Looks like someone already tied up horses in there at some point, because there’s a good place for it. We can walk over an’ get some water from the river before feedin’ ‘em.”

“OK.” Nodding, you gestured toward the building with your chin. “Anyone been in there recently? Maybe those people that -”

“Nope.” He stuck a hand on his hip, shaking his head. “Everything was dry and closed up. Took the stairs and checked on the second floor, too. Nothin’. If they were here, the cleaned up real good after themselves.” He paused and then frowned. “You’re shivering.”

“It’s barely spring, Joel. Wasn’t so bad when we were moving, but now…” You shivered again, wrinkling your nose. “Come on. We should get these horses stowed while we’ve still got light.”

And so you did, Joel taking his reins back and leading his horse ahead of yours and through the doors, the two of you working in silence to get them situated before Joel spun in a slow circle, chewing on his lip.

“I’m gonna go get that water. Looks like there’s a place by the window to make a fire, we can open it a little to let the smoke out. Saw a woodpile out back, if you wanna use it.” Telling him that you would, you waited until he’d left the room again to move, feet carrying you out through the back door and to the wood he’d mentioned.

You chose the driest pieces you could find and carried them inside, setting them in the location he’d pointed out. By the time he got back, you had a fire ready to go, kindling stacked and arranged in a way you hoped would quickly catch.

Joel stepped next to you and then crouched down, hands hanging between his bent knees as he stared at your construction. But for long moments, he didn’t say anything. “Joel?” I know what that look means. Turning your head toward him, you narrowed your eyes. “What did I do wrong?”

“Can I show you somethin’?” He met your eyes, a genuine kindness in them that he didn’t often expose to others. “Just one little -”

“Yeah.” Your lips twitched as you fought back a smile. “Of course.” He nodded once, drawing your attention with the extension of one finger.

“You didn’t leave enough space for air flow at the bottom. Somea these tiny little pieces? The twigs? If you stick ‘em between the other ones, and point ‘em to the middle, you open it up more. Give the flame a chance to breathe.” He repositioned the wood as he spoke, the man’s fingers nimbly working to build up the bottom layers.

You liked watching him do things, liked watching him show you what he knew, and though the gesture would probably have annoyed you coming from anyone else, from Joel it didn’t. Because he’s not making the point he can do it better. He’s making sure I know what to do next time. “There was a cushion back behind the counter. It looked like there was some cotton inside.” Jerking your head to the right, you sighed. “I probably should have grabbed some of that for -”

“Hey.” He turned his head to look at you before shaking it back and forth. “We would have been able to light what you built, no problem. I just -”

“I know.” You reached out, squeezing his bicep through the thick jacket he wore. “And I appreciate that, Joel. Thank you for showing me.” He watched as you stood up, slowly reaching for you before his hand wrapped around your calf - just above the top of the boot you wore. Then, he squeezed, the man giving you a single nod before letting go. “Let me see if that cotton’s going to help.”

He stayed quiet when you turned and headed for the counter, smoothly rounding it and eyeing the torn seat cover. Fluffy strings of filling spilled out from it as though something had attempted to pull them free. Mice, maybe. Or squirrels. You lifted the whole thing, but before you turned to head back to Joel, something else caught your eye. Hmm. Transferring the pillow to one hand, you reached out with the other, fingers lifting the folded sheets of paper as you picked it up.

“Take a look at this.” You spoke when you’d lowered yourself back to the floor next to him, setting the cushion down. “Remember going to rest stops and travel plazas before, Joel? All the maps and brochures for stuff you could do wherever you happened to stop?” You grinned as you flipped the tri-fold open, eyes scanning the faded pictures and words on the pages. “Looks like this place is no different.”

“Yeah?” He was tucking small tufts of cotton between the branches, jaw set in an expression you read as concentration. “What kinds of things could you do here before the world went to hell?”

“There are apparently some hot springs down the road to the west.” Tracing over the faded paper with one finger, you smiled. “Says here winter’s the best time to go, too, because everything around them is frozen, but the heat from the water keeps them exposed.”

“That so?” He cleared his throat. “We had a place like that at home. Didn’t have to worry about it freezin’ though. And I guess it wasn’t really hot, kids used to swim there in the summer.” He smiled, the man’s lips briefly curving upward. “Me an’ Tommy would take Sarah.

The name slipped from his lips much more easily than it used to - the man’s memories of the girl still associated with pain and sadness, but also tinged with genuine nostalgia. Now it’s Ellie’s name he tries not to say.

“This says that the water in these is… was about 104, so who knows what it’s like now, or if they still exist, but that definitely would have been nice.” Reading through the information, you shrugged. “Here.” You held the brochure out, waiting until he’d taken it from you to reach for the lighter that was zipped into the pocket of your jacket. “Wonder what else is -”

He stopped you with one hand on your arm just before you touched the flame to the cotton, Joel saying your name quietly. “Don’t. Not yet.”

“Why?” Cocking your head to the side, you blinked in confusion. “We just -”

“We’ve still got plenty of light.” Joel sighed, frowning as he eyed the map. “And this looks like it’s only a couple miles down the road, if you want to go and take a look.”

“Really?” Inhaling sharply, you widened your eyes. “Is that safe? We’d be -”

“We haven’t seen anyone or anything in three days aside from those animal tracks. River’s on one side, hills on the other. I think…” He nodded. “I think I can watch your back for long enough for you to climb in for a couple minutes if you want.”

“I don’t have a bathing suit, Joel.” Leaning in, you raised an eyebrow. “So you’re going to have to keep your eyes wide open.”

In another move that wasn’t quite a surprise, Joel closed the distance between you, the man’s mouth covering yours for long moments before he pulled away and turned his head so that he could speak into your ear.

“Gonna be a tough job, but I think I can handle it.”

—

The trip from the market to the springs took just over an hour on foot, you and Joel talking quietly almost the whole way.

It felt almost normal - your conversation oscillating from the remainder of that patrol to what would happen in the coming weeks in Jackson. You brought up the annual spring dance that was set to take place two weeks later, and Joel questioned you about the greenhouses and the crop rotation that would start almost immediately after that.

You talked about everything but Ellie. Joel changed the subject when she came up and so you didn’t linger on it, though you barely managed to hide your wince at the sound of hurt in his voice.

It’ll get better. You sighed as you reached for his gloved hand, squeezing it tightly. It has to. The girl’s silence toward him had extended for much longer than you’d anticipated it would, though you couldn’t blame her for it. And you’d spoken to her often since their falling out, Ellie not often pushing you for information about the man, but hinting that she wanted to know every now and then. So you knew that somewhere, deep down, the possibility of their reconciliation existed - no matter how far into the future the girl continued to let the hurt linger. It’s gotta be on their terms. I can’t force it.

“So what are we lookin’ for?” Joel said your name again, gesturing in front of you with his free hand. “Brochure said a boat ramp, but we’re probably not going to see that under all this snow.”

“There was an actual pool, too.” You turned your head to look across the river, squinting. “But it said that closed before 2012, and I think it’s on the other side of the river, anyway.” What are we looking for? “So I guess we just look for open pools of water close to the -”

“Like that?”Joel stopped, pointing. “Looks like there’s some steam comin’ up off of that right there.” He was right - and so you stopped, too, the smile on your face growing. “That’s bigger than I thought it would be.”

The pool was about fifteen feet long and roughly six or seven wide, the water clear enough that you could see the rocks on the bottom. The sight of it warmed you thoroughly, steam curling up from the surface and telling you everything that you needed to know about how warm the water still was. It’s going to feel so good.

“Come on.” You tugged on his hand, carefully beginning to make your way down the slope and toward the exposed pool. “It looks like some of these rocks are flat and dry enough that we can put our stuff on them and it won’t get wet.”

“Or, I can hold your clothes.” He stopped when you did, the two of you mere inches away from the edge of the water. “Since I’m not -”

“Joel, you’re going in.” You exhaled, turning to face him. “You said it yourself, there’s been nothing but those tracks this whole time, and that was miles to the south. Nothing that can hurt us is going to cross that river before we see it, and look.” You pointed. “There’s an overhang that keeps us hidden from the road. We’d hear anyone and anything coming long before they see us. And…” Biting down on your lower lip, you winked at him. “I’m pretty sure your aim wouldn’t be worse because you’re not wearing clothes.”

It took him a second, but he laughed at your words, the lines appearing at the corners of his eyes and the slump of his shoulders telling you that there was no way he was going to argue with you. Good, because he needs this. “You get in first.” He took a breath to steady himself, gesturing at the water. “Tell me how warm it is.”

As much as you wanted to let him go first, the steamy air and low noise of the rushing water convinced you otherwise. So with no complaint or protest, shrugged off your backpack and unzipped your jacket, laying both down on the rocks behind you. From there, you reached for your sweater and pulled it - along with your undershirt over your head, dropping those onto your coat as you shivered in the chilly air, nipples stiffening into peaks beneath the thin material left covering you.

Joel didn’t look away when you tugged off your tank top, too, tossing it behind you and onto the other clothing before you sat down on one of the larger rocks, unlacing your boots one at a time. “Thought you’d be wearin’ more layers.” He finally spoke as you removed your socks, balling them up and stuffing them into the sleeve of your jacket. “It’s cold out here, and -”

“I have another shirt in my bag, but it hasn’t been that cold, Joel.” Looking up at him, you smiled. “I can guarantee that you’re not wearing anything more than I am, so I don’t … I don’t know what point you’re trying to make here.” He grumbled at your words, barely concealing a smile, and when you stood again, easing your jeans down and over your hips, you watched as he stared at you, the man’s tongue dragging slowly over his lower lip. I love it when he looks at me like that.

Making sure your jeans weren’t trailing in the water, you stepped forward and groaned at the feeling of the warmth when you sunk your feet into it. “Warm?” His voice - low and deep from behind you - made you turn, Joel’s eyes focused on your face. “Looks like it.”

“It is.” Stepping deeper into the pool, you were careful not to slip and fall, relishing the curve of the smooth stone beneath your feet. It had been two days since you’d removed your boots, and when you closed your eyes at the way it felt to wiggle your toes through the gently moving current, you didn’t bother stopping the sigh that escaped you. “It’s hot Joel. This is going to feel amazing.”

Turning around when you reached the far side of the pool, you faced him again. You locked eyes before you lowered yourself into a sitting position, hands stretched out on either side of you for balance. Oh, this was a good idea.

The water came up to mid chest, and at the way it felt - the first time you’d truly been enveloped in so much warmth in nearly twenty years, you actually moaned, closing your eyes. Holy shit, this is… amazing. “I could watch you like this all day.” His voice forced your eyes open again, and you found that Joel was still standing in place, arms crossed over his chest. “Goddamn.”

The need in his voice went straight to your belly, white-hot and focused. With a sigh, you stretched your legs out in front of you, keeping your attention on him. “You gonna give me something to watch, too?”

He didn’t hesitate, unzipping his jacket and letting it drop to the ground next to his pack, his sweatshirt and undershirt following. Your eyes were drawn to the exposed skin of his upper body, shoulders dropping in another contented sigh at the sight of him. Doesn’t matter how many times I see him like this, it’s always better than the last. Joel dropped his hands to his sides and took a deep breath, holding it.

You watched as he flexed his fingers, wrist moving back and forth a few times with nervous energy. Before Joel could speak, you beat him to it, lifting one hand and holding your palm out and toward him. “Bring the gun with you if it’ll make you feel better.” He visibly relaxed and nodded, reaching for his waistband and removing the firearm before setting it down on the rocks and undoing his belt and the button of his jeans.

“This feels wrong.” He bent over, untying his boots and then using his right foot to anchor the left while he pulled it free. “Feels dangerous. It feels like -”

“It feels like it’s going to be fine, Joel. No one’s going to sneak up on us. We didn’t even see tracks in the snow from people. We’re the only ones that have been anywhere near here since before it snowed last.” He lowered himself to the ground as you spoke, pulling his socks off and stuffing them into his boots before easing to his feet again, hands pausing at the waistband of his jeans. “C’mon, Miller. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Gimmie a minute.” He sighed, closing his eyes - and then pushed his pants down to his ankles in one smooth movement before stepping out of them and kicking them backwards. The denim joined the pile of other clothing he’d just removed and left him standing in front of you in only a threadbare pair of boxers, the elastic settled low on his hips. “If this ain’t warm, I -”

Oh, it’s warm alright. He stopped speaking though, as soon as he dipped a single foot into the pool, his jaw dropping as your grin widened.

You watched him relax - watched the way his posture loosened the deeper he got into the water, the man only opening his eyes when he twisted his body backwards to reach for his gun.

But when he got to your side of the pool, reaching out to set the gun down atop a flat rock that was easily within reach, he closed them again as he turned his back to the river and sat down. The water wasn’t quite as deep where Joel was, and as you watched his torso disappear beneath the surface, the cotton of his underwear clinging to his thighs, you realized that it didn’t matter. Because this is probably the warmest thing he’s had in just as long.

Joel settled in and stayed quiet, jaw working as his breaths evened out - and you didn’t want to break the moment.

Instead, you stared at him, watching as Joel slouched down in into the water, the liquid creeping further up his chest the more he stretched out. “Holy shit this feels good. Last time I was in water this warm was … shit, it was the shower I took the day of …” He trailed off, opening his eyes and looking over at you. The day of the outbreak. “Damn.”

Your heart ached for him and for the look in his eyes - one of barely muted anguish - but it was gone only seconds later, replaced with an easy expression that you were much more used to. He wants to move past it? Ok. “Well it definitely wasn’t at your place in Jackson.” Giving him an exaggerated wince, you went on. “It would take a long time to boil enough water to fill up your tub.”

“Sorry that my 30 year old water heater can’t compete with this.” He lifted one hand, indicating your surroundings. “I’ll get right on that. Can’t have the princess gettin’ cold, or -”

You interrupted him with a barking laugh, eyes squeezed shut and your head tilted back. After only a few seconds Joel’s laugh joined yours - and his hand shot out beneath the surface of the water, fingers encircling your wrist and pulling you forward.

You realized what he was doing before he’d moved you far, and moments later you were tightly pressed against his side and chest, Joel releasing your wrist so that he could wind an arm around you. “What’s so damn funny?” He mumbled the words into your ear, his warm breath a shocking difference from the way the steam-filled air felt against your skin. “Are you laughing at me?”

“I am.” You settled against the rocks, sighing. “Getting naked in the snow, calling me princess, making an actual joke… who are you and what have you done with Joel Miller?” You got a quiet chuckle in return, the man’s chest vibrating beneath your palm. When you tilted your head back and pressed your lips to the underside of his jaw, you went on. “I like you like this, Joel. I wish it could happen more.”

“I do, too.” He tightened his arm around you, taking a long breath and holding it .”And maybe it can.” There was another pause and in confusion, you sat up straight, staring at him. What? “We’ve been in Jackson for what, almost four years?”

It didn’t seem like that long - and at the same time, if felt like he’d been in your life forever, the time you’d spent in Jackson before he’d arrived a period of loneliness that grew hazier in your memories by the day. Four years. “Mhmm.” Rubbing your fingertips over the skin of the center of his chest, you nodded.

“Four years is long enough to keep myself from believin’ it’s real.” He sighed, shifting next to you and sinking a few inches deeper into the water. “It feels… nice to laugh. I like not lookin’ over my shoulder every time I walk out of my house. Not worryin’ about Ellie all the time is … I mean I still worry, but…” He paused and then spoke again, voice low. “It’s not like when we were on the road, or when we first got to Jackson. I wish it all hadn’t happened like it did, but …”

“Holding onto a secret like that … like those will wear you down quick, Joel. I get it.” Your fingertips traced over the front of his shoulder, following the divot in his skin from an old scar downward. “But what do you mean by saying that maybe it can happen?”

“Maybe it’s time to stop punishin’ myself. For Nadine. For Sarah. For Tess. Salt Lake. Hell, even for Ellie. It ain’t fair to me and it sure as hell isn’t fair for you to have to -”

“Joel.” You sat up straight, your hand settled on his side. Waiting until he was looking at you, you took a deep breath before continuing. “This isn’t about what’s fair for me. I told you I wanted you no matter what, and however you’d let me have you, before I knew any of it, and I meant it. This is life now, and you -”

“Shouldn’t have to be.” He reached up with his right hand, the shattered glass on his watch catching the gradually fading sunlight. “I promised to do right by you, and I intend to keep that promise.” You already are. Drawing your lower lip back and between your teeth while you waited, you sighed. “I’m gong to try. Try real hard to stop overthinkin’ and worryin’ so much. Whatever time I… we have left, I’m gonna make the most of it.”

He didn’t have to say any of it to you, and the fact that he was meant a great deal. He’s not saying it because he thinks I need to hear it, he’s saying it because he needs to make it real for himself. “If that means me getting to hear you laugh more, Joel?” Leaning in, you dragged your nose alongside his and nodded. “And see you smile more? Then good. That’s what I want, too.” He nodded, too, tilting his head enough to press his lips to yours.

The steam rose around you, the gentle current of the water flowing over your legs and around your bodies. For long moments you and Joel stayed connected - the kiss lingering but not deepening, the movement of his mouth against yours purposeful as he kissed you thoroughly.

You loved the moments like that with him - and were thankful that over the previous year and a half, they’d been coming more and more often - Joel’s affection for you more out in the open, though it was still mostly reserved for when you were behind closed doors or among friends.

After telling you the truth about Salt Lake City, he was also gentler - almost more steadfast in the way he treated you. The days when he’d rebuffed your emotions and tried to ignore his, pushing you away whenever he got the chance had all but ended. And it’s… better this way. He’s better this way, even though it cost him so much.

He still punished himself for what had happened - all the way back in Texas and as recently as with Ellie. But despite that, he’d stopped taking it out in the way he approached being with you and treating himself - and it was very apparent that deciding to make the effort had been a life-altering decision for him.

You nipped at his lower lip and then pulled away, sighing. “You’re supposed to be relaxing, Joel. These pools are great for your muscles and circulation. The heat’s going to make it so that it doesn’t feel like we’ve been on horses for the last couple days.”

“I am relaxin’.” Joel tilted his head back and rested it against the rocks behind him, turning slightly toward you. “But it’s kinda hard when you’re right here next to me.”

“Well then.” You settled back, putting some distance between you and shrugging. “My apologies.” His lips twitched, the man’s smile brief, and then he nodded once and closed his eyes, chest rising and falling as he took in deep breaths.

The significance of his closed eyes wasn’t lost on you. It was another instance of Joel trusting you to keep an eye out, of the man’s understanding that he was safe around you. And you are. I’d never let anything happen to you.

You watched him for long moments, eyes on the way he looked in the water - the snowy expanse behind him along with the rushing sound of the river contrasting with how warm and cozy he looked, how quiet the rest of the world around you was.

He had his left arm out of the water. That hand rested on the lip of the stacked rocks to keep his watch dry. Even though he occasionally tapped those fingers in a random pattern, low sighs escaping his lips, he didn’t speak and neither did you.

Arguably, Joel needed the rest and comfort much more than you did. Sure, he’d suggested the walk to the springs for your benefit, you were glad he was enjoying it, too. Because he deserves good things. It was a nice break in your scouting mission, and despite the fact that you knew you couldn’t stay for long, you wanted him to enjoy the time that the two of you had in the bubbling pool.

The water was warm - the steam and heat lulling you into a dazed comfort that made you press yourself back and against the rocks, eyelids drooping as you gazed over at the man next to you. Even the smell of sulfur dulled as the time passed and you got used to it, your deep breaths slowing as the water soothed your tired muscles.

His hand reached for you under the water after a few minutes, palm sliding over the back of it before he curved his fingers around yours and squeezed, thumb arcing over your palm. “Too bad these aren’t closer. We could come back.”

“It’s not that far.” You sighed, rolling your shoulders back and opening your eyes, once again looking over at him. “But they’re so close to the actual river, once this snow melts and the water level rises, they’ll be almost impossible to find.” Reaching up, you scratched at the side of your neck. “Might be easier to find a hot tub and hook it up in your back yard, to be honest.”

He scoffed at that and you smiled, eyes locked on the way a bead of water looked as it ran down his neck and over his scarred chest before it disappeared into the water, leaving a glistening trail in its wake. His hair was curling against the back of his neck, the steam dampening the ends of it and darkening them at the same time, the growing amount of silvery gray bright against the darker strands. “You’re starin’.”

“I am.” The response was immediate, your free hand moving slowly through the water - back and forth, fingers dragging over the shapes of the rocks and pebbles beneath it. “Can you blame me?”

“Can’t blame you, but I still don’t …” He groaned, his left hand curling into a loose fist. “Still don’t understand it sometimes.” Of course you don’t.

“You don’t have to understand, Joel.” Shifting onto your knees, you moved closer and pulled your hand free from his, cupping both of them together beneath the water and filling them. “You’ve just gotta let me do it.” His jaw pulled tight beneath his beard, the man nodding once as you lifted your hands and reached out, letting the water flow over his shoulder and chest. “Wish this was deeper. The air is cold.”

He dropped his gaze from your face to your chest, his eyes lingering there. When you glanced down, you saw that your bra was entirely see-through, nipples still stiff and visible through the soaked material. “I can see that.” He smiled - a tiny one that turned into a grin, Joel’s hands reaching for you - one wet, one dry - as he pulled you closer. “Lemme warm you up.”

It wasn’t quite comfortable to kneel on the rocks, but once you were straddling his lap and had settled your weight on his outstretched legs, it was better, your arms both winding around his neck as one of his moved to your waist, the other hand pressed against the back of your shoulder. “What’re you doing, Miller?” Threading your fingers through his hair and then dragging your nails along his scalp, you waited.

The air was still around you again, the only sound the moving water. For long moments you let yourself believe that you and Joel were on vacation - that the two of you would stand up and grab fluffy towels and walk a short distance back to a hotel where you’d hop in the shower, rinse off and then spend the rest of the night in a warm, comfortable bed, the TV playing some cable reruns in the background.

And it was easy - or at least easier than you’d thought it would be to let your mind go to that place, especially with the way Joel looked at you. His dark eyes were sharp under the heavy set of his brow, the man’s attention entirely on you, like it had been for so long. “I’m relaxin’.” He cleared his throat, the warmth of his palm on your back anchoring you to the spot. “As much as I can with you sittin’ on my lap, anyway.”

That made you laugh, your head tossed back as your grip on his hair tightened. “You’re the one that made it happen.” He mumbled a few words that sounded suspiciously like “I know I did”, and when you looked back at him, you found that his smile was gone, his lips set into a determined line. “Now you’re staring.”

“Sorry.” He wasn’t, and you both knew it, but instead of replying, you leaned in, resting your forehead against Joel’s, eyes closing slowly as you took a deep breath. “When do you want to go back?” Never. “We should probably think about headin’ there before it gets real dark. The road’s easy enough to follow, but I still don’t want to be slippin’ around on the ice.”

“Whenever you want, Joel.” Angling your head so that you you kiss his cheek, you nodded. “Just tell me when you’re ready.”

You weren’t looking forward to getting dressed again, or to getting out of the water and exposing your skin to the late-winter air, but you knew that you had to. And we’ll get back and light the fire, and - “We can stay here a little while longer.” He spoke into your ear, his hold on you tightening. “Just a couple minutes.”

Relief flooded through you and you went limp in his arms, shifting so that you could lower your head and lay it against his shoulder. One hand slid down and then stopped on his bicep, the other moving beneath his opposite arm to curl around his back.

Your fingertips found and followed the length of a scar there, the raised skin a part of his body that you’d previously mapped over and over. But I’ll always do it again. It was just another piece of his history that made him Joel, and something that you would have been able to identify by touch with no questions asked. Something else to love.

He relaxed beneath you, but you felt his muscles go taut as he tilted his chin up again, the back of his head pressed against the rocks and exposing the column on his throat to the open air. At that, you opened your eyes fully, immediately zeroing in on the freckles there - tiny spots littering his tanned skin like a faint splatter of paint.

He had them all over, but the ones on his neck were your favorites. Just like you had so many times before, you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning in and pressing your lips to them, a smile curving the corners of your mouth upward at his intake of breath.

“Don’t start somethin’ you can’t finish.” Humming out a quiet laugh, you let your lips slide over his damp skin, parting them enough to let the edges of your teeth graze over the corded muscle on the side of his throat. He groaned at that, his grip on you tightening and the sound of your name escaping his lips. “C’mon, that ain’t fair.” We could make it fair.

You had one shot to convince him that you could continue, that the risk was truly low enough that it was outweighed by the benefits of following through on your actions. And I know just how to do it.

“What if I let you finish?” Kissing his collarbone, you shivered as he began to circle over your skin with his thumbs, Joel’s hips shifting beneath you. “Let you decide.” He swore again, the hand on your back sliding down so that it could rest against the band of your bra, fingers splayed to cover as much skin as possible.

There were times when he let you lead, no problem, Joel following your cues like he’d been doing it for decades.

There were others when things were equal, choices made in the moment and based on everything that was happening between the two of you.

But if anything else was going to happen that day, Joel had to be the one to lead. He needed to make the decision that it was safe, that he felt comfortable enough to let things progress - to lose yourselves in each other.

So what’s it going to be? You kissed along the line of his jaw, the man’s damp beard wiry against your lips. What’s he going to decide? Straightening up, you cocked your head to the right. “Hmm? We’re going to have to head back soon, so you’ve gotta pick fast.”

“We do this,” he started, nostrils flaring as his breaths quickened. “We do this and we’re gonna have to be quick, alright? This ain’t… it’s not like we’re at home.” You saw the desire in his eyes, the heat in them warmer than the water you were sitting in. But you also saw the twitch in his jaw, the man fighting with himself at the idea of what he was on the borderline of agreeing to.

“I know.” Releasing his curls, you nodded, one hand sliding over his cheek to cup it, that thumb moving slowly over his lips. “I know we’re not at home. But…” You trailed off, not breaking eye contact as you used your tongue to wet your lips. “But that doesn’t mean we have to rush.” He groaned as you pressed on the fullest part of his lower lip, his eyes closing halfway. “How many times have you told me that if you’re gonna do something, you should take the time to do it right?”

“Prob’ly every damn time.” Eyes opening again, Joel looked back up at you, the steam from the pool you were sitting in gathering on the skin of his cheeks and dampening his beard further. “So I guess I should follow my own advice.” He took his hands off of you for long enough to remove his watch, undoing the band before setting the device carefully next to his gun. He paused for a few seconds and then returned his hands to you, the man’s fingers trailing lightly over your shoulders and upper back.

You didn’t want to speak and risk ruining the moment, so you just nodded slowly, keeping your eyes on him. Joel’s hand dropped further, his thumb sliding beneath the band at the center of your back. In one motion, it came undone, his lips twitching as he fought back a smile at your surprised gasp when the sodden material loosened. “Joel.”

“Lean back.” His voice low, there was no room for argument with the words. You did as he asked, moving one hand down so you were holding onto the back of his neck and keeping the other on his arm, fingers curving around his shoulder.

He looked down and you watched his gaze as it traveled from your face to your chest, the man’s tongue dragging over his lower lip the same way your thumb had only moments before. What’s he going to - You found out soon enough, Joel’s head dropping as he leaned forward, his mouth landing first on your collarbone and then moving down, the hand he’d had on your waist sliding up your side.

He pushed your bra up, his palm covering one side of your chest, and when you gasped he groaned, his thumb arcing over your nipple, the warmth of his skin shocking against the chilled peak.

Shamelessly, you pushed your chest out, Joel understanding immediately what you wanted and continuing to work his way down your body. When he reached your other breast, he didn’t bother moving the material out of the way, his lips sealing over the peaked nipple and sucking, the pressure a welcome surprise. He flicked his tongue over it then, combining that with the flex of his fingers on the other side of you, squeezing the muscle there.

You knew that you should have kept your eyes open and on the opposite side of the river, but you couldn’t. You closed them and let yourself get lost in the feeling of him beneath and in front of you. If he was worried, he wouldn’t be doing this. The thought comforted you and so you let yourself relax, fingers stroking the back of Joel’s neck as he continued to mouth at your chest.

You inched forward on his lap, feeling him between your legs as you settled on his upper thighs. When Joel’s hips jerked at the contact you hummed, smiling. I can work with that. Letting go of his arm, you reached between your bodies and nudged your fingers into the slit of his underwear. The man jerked again at your actual touch, and when you pulled him free, fingers wrapped around his base, Joel backed off, staring up at you. “That’s what you want?”

“It is.” You stroked him a few times, the feeling different than anything you’d ever done before because of the water. “Always want you, Joel. You know that.”

His hair hung over his eye, and without pausing the motion of your hand, you released his neck and reached up with the other one, dragging your fingers through it and pushing it away from his forehead. His hand was still on your chest, the man slowly kneading at your flesh. This is it. The last time we can put a stop to this. The final… our final off ramp.

“Good.” He nearly growled the word, surging forward and surprising you when he released your chest and reached for your neck, gripping it and holding you in place. He pressed his forehead to yours, the man saying your name so softly it was almost a sigh.

And then you were kissing him again, Joel wasting no time in urging your lips apart with his tongue. You shifted your hips, changing your grip on him. When Joel bit down on your lip, the sting of his teeth hot in the cold air, you squeezed, his hips jumping up and forcing himself even deeper into your hand.

“Can’t…” He groaned, kissing you quickly. “Can’t reach you like this. Got no room.” You gave him two more strokes before you replied, sighing as you moved your lips toward his ear.

“Want me to get up?” Taking the lobe between your teeth, you smiled when he nuzzled against the side of your neck, his lips pressed to the place where it connected to your shoulder. “Make it easier?”

“No, I want you to move backwards.” He pushed you away gently, forcing you to release his ear and sit up. “Woulda done it myself, but I didn’t want to scrape your knees on these rocks.” He raised an eyebrow, the look in his eyes changing with every word coming out of his mouth. “How ‘bout it?”

You didn’t speak before moving. Cautiously, you backed away from Joel, the grit of the rocks and sand beneath your knees present but not uncomfortable. You didn’t let him go, either, your eyes dropping for long enough to watch as your hand moved beneath he bubbling surface of the water.

For a few moments, you wondered if what you were doing was a good idea, and then you looked past Joel and at the river and the water rushing by. Beyond that, the foothills and white-coated landscape stretched on to the horizon. We’d see anything or anyone coming. We’d see it all.

Sighing as you leaned in, you continued to stroke him beneath the water, fingers flexing as you paused between each motion. You braced yourself on his shoulder with your other hand and pressed a kiss to his cheek before ducking your tilted head down. He moved both hands to your hips, steadying you - and when you made contact with his skin again, it was to kiss his jaw, your lips lingering for long seconds.

“It’s alright. I’ve got you. Always got you.” His voice a low rumble in your ear, you felt him nod. “We’re safe.”

That confirmation was all you needed, and you continued to mouth over his skin, leaving kisses over the taut column of his throat.

Despite the chill in the air, the man’s skin was blazing hot, and when you backed off enough to look at him, you let yourself stare, eyes locking with his for a few seconds before dropping down to his mouth and then to his chest, one thumb arcing slowly over the large scar on the front of his shoulder.

The steam was beading heavily on his skin, and your eyes followed a few of the droplets that got too large to stay in one place before they ran slowly down his chest. Your lips curved upward as you caught sight of a few more, and then you leaned in, parting them and extending your tongue to lap at the moisture, dragging the muscle over the man’s skin as he tensed beneath you. “What the -”

He tightened his hold on your hips but didn’t move his hands until you hummed quietly, licking your way up and over his clavicle before following the line of it to the hollow at the center of his throat. Joel’s groan vibrated against your tongue and when you felt his skin pull upward, you couldn’t keep the grin on your face at bay.

He was exposing his throat to you again - Joel’s fingers digging into the meat of your hips as he rested the back of his head against the rock behind him for a second time. You took advantage of it, teeth grazing over every inch of him until you said his name again, imploring him to look at you.

Joel locked eyes with you only a few moments later, one large hand rising and cradling your cheek, the tip of his thumb moving slowly beneath your eye. You leaned into his touch, still stroking him from root to tip without breaking stride. “Please, Joel. Right now.”

Typically, that would have been when he snuck a hand between your legs, using at least one of his thick fingers to open you up. It would have been when he batted your hand away and pushed you to lay back on the bed so that he could kiss his way down your body and settle himself at the apex of your thighs; his lips and tongue and the ridge of his nose sending you sailing over the edge at least once before he even thought about burying himself in your heat.

But that day, you didn’t want any of that. You wanted him - wanted him to take you without delay, wanted to him to worry only about himself and what he wanted and needed before he worried about you. He won’t, not completely, but…

“I’ll hurt you.” He frowned, looking down briefly. “Haven’t even touched you yet.”

“Maybe.” You paused your hand’s movement, circling his slit with your thumb. “We’re in the water, Joel. It’s not going to be like normal no matter what you do.” His surprise was evident, both of the man’s brows shooting up. “I’m ready to go if you are, and …” You looked down, too, watching the movement of your hand as you resumed it. “And you feel like you’re ready.”

“Been ready, darlin’.” His voice dropped lower than usual, and at the endearment’s use, it was your turn to gasp, your head rising again to meet his gaze. “Oh, I think you liked that.” He smirked, his thumb sliding over to trail over your lips. “Gonna have to remember that one.”

“I did.” Without breaking eye contact, you rose onto your knees and then moved forward again. “Please do.” He nodded, the hand at your waist moving inward and hooking beneath the elastic of your underwear, easing it to the side, Should have taken that off before. “I’m gonna go slow, alright?” Joel’s hand moved from your face to slide down your arm, pausing at your elbow.

“Whatever you need.” He licked his lips and then flexed his wrist, his knuckles brushing over you briefly. Your hips bucked forward at the touch and you saw the gleam in his eyes, the man barely containing his amusement. You know what you do to me. Don’t pretend like you don’t.

You aligned your body with his, glancing down long enough to make sure that the position would work. We’re good. We’re… Widening the spread of your legs, you felt the gravel biting into your knees as you sunk lower, the sting of the tiny rocks replaced by the slight discomfort of Joel inching his way into you.

It was a stretch - moreso than usual - and even though you hissed at the feeling, you kept going, closing your eyes and then tipping your head back. Another quiet whimper escaped when he was as deep as he could go, but that was cut short when you felt his lips on your neck, the man’s beard tickling everywhere it touched. “You feel good,” he mumbled, lips puckering against your skin. “Always do, but especially like this.”

Praise from Joel was something that you hoarded in your memories. The words from his lips were ones that you always longed to hear, especially when it came to the way that you made him feel - and what he said that day was no exception.

You wound both arms around his neck, and when he raised his head again, you nodded. “You do, too.” It was barely there and then it was gone; the smirk on his lips replaced with a contented look that you knew well. “Even when I have to do all the work.”

You began to move before he could react, a slow roll of your hips only pulling you back and forth a few inches at a time, but it was enough to get you started. He repositioned his hands on your body, fingers spread wide to cover as much of your waist and lower back as possible - and then Joel curled them inward, his grip grounding.

But he also used it to guide you, encouraging the angle of your movement. He paired his hold with small, shallow thrusts of his own hips, the man pushing them forward to meet yours - over and over, his eyes locked on yours and never wavering aside from his need to blink.

“Never done this in the water before,” you groaned after a few minutes, the pain completely gone and replaced with only a feeling of fullness as your bodies moved together. “It feels…”

“Different.” He grunted out the word, holding you in place. “Air’s kinda cold, though.” You chuckled at that but nodded in agreement, leaning in and kissing Joel deeply, the man’s response immediate.

“Then warm us up, Joel.” Speaking against his lips, you closed your eyes again. “I know you can.” He took instruction incredibly well, and soon you and Joel fell into a comfortable rhythm. Aside from the added warmth of the water and the grit of the spring’s floor below, it was no different from the other times you’d been with each other in a similar position.

The cold kept you alert though, the breeze chilling the droplets of water on your upper body. It gave you focus - ears attuned to the sounds Joel made; tiny grunts with each snap of his hips, the goan that stuck in his throat when you sunk all the way down and circled your hips against the short, coarse hair at his base.

“Tell me what you need.” He sighed the words into your ear, one hand still resting on your back beneath the surface of the water and the other flat between your shoulder blades. You rocked against him a few more times as you contemplated his words. A couple things, but …

Slowly and without breaking your rhythm, you slid your hand down and over Joel’s arm, moving it until your hand was atop his. Fingers curling around his wrist, you tugged it between your bodies. When you backed away enough to look into his eyes, you nodded twice, taking a deep breath. “Angle’s no good without you touching me, Joel.”

You released his wrist, still staring at him - and then Joel spoke. “Stop movin’.” You froze, one hand resting on his thigh. Is everything alright? Are we - “When we get back to that old rest area?” You nodded, the ends of your fingers running through the damp hair at the nape of his neck. “I’m gonna drag one of those mattresses down the stairs and show you a good angle.”

Biting back the response you wanted to give him, you nodded and settled for a quiet hum. “Alright.” You rolled your hips, laser-focused on the way Joel responded - the tic of his jaw, the hand on your shoulders sliding down more than a few inches. “Want me to get off of -”

“No. But I’m gonna get you off.” He leaned closer, mouth landing on yours. “And we’re gonna go from there.”

As he kissed you, the man’s tongue sliding over your lower lip and then past it to meet yours, Joel began to touch you too, the pad of his thumb seeking and finding its target with no difficulty, despite the odd angle and the presence of the soaked fabric of your underwear. He moved it in slow, small circles, the kiss continuing as you began to move again, too, rising enough to feel the drag of him through you on your retreat and a push into you with each downward motion.

There was more pain as you dug your knees into the grit beneath them, bearing down on the man. But you ignored it, the building heat in your belly occupying almost all of your thoughts.

He knew just how to touch you, had learned your body almost as well as you knew it yourself in the time that you’d known each other. And I’m so goddamn thankful for that. You broke the kiss, tilting your head downward to watch where your bodies connected through the water you sat in, the clear liquid swirling slowly around your legs.

It was usually a chain reaction - when one of you came, the other followed suit, but part of you believed that Joel wouldn’t give himself the chance to finish in the water, instead preferring to bring you to and over the edge and deny himself until you were back inside for the night. But that’s not what I want.

You sped up as much as you could, clenching around him when you paused before rising each time, and that seemed to do the trick. Joel grunted and reversed the direction his thumb was moving in. He increased the pressure and you nodded as you turned your head toward his neck, mouthing at the skin there. “Keep going, Joel.” You closed your eyes, focusing on him. “Please.”

The hand on your back moved lower, following the line of your spine until just before it reached the water and then stopped, his roughened fingertips replaced with the edges of his nails - and when he dug those in, he thrust upward at the same time he switched from his thumb to two fingers, the added pressure immediately working to make you come.

You cried out, his name the only word you could think of, the sound of it carrying away from you and far across the barren landscape. Instead of stopping what he was doing, Joel continued, prolonging your pleasure with his hand and body.

You bit down on his shoulder, the motion of your body stuttering as you rode out your climax - but when Joel attempted to slow down, you didn’t let him. “No, Joel.” Tonguing at his ear, you took the lobe between your teeth and tugged. “Don’t you dare make me do this alone.”

The aftershocks of your orgasm urged him in deeper as your muscles contracted around him, and you reached backward, behind your body with one hand, continuing to roll your hips. Bracing yourself on his thigh, you leaned back, taking a deep breath.

You rolled your hips over and over as you wound your arm around his neck, and Joel did his part to hold you up - one arm firmly around your shoulders, the other one pressed to the center of your back. His hand supported your head as you kept it upright, heavy lidded eyes focused on his face.

Squeezing for balance, you used your legs to lift yourself higher. The change in position gave him more room to move and the warmth of the water made the odd angle feel better, even as you slipped on the surface beneath you. Ah, shit. You regained your balance thanks to the tightening of his fingers against your back and your not-so-gentle tug on the hair at the nape of his neck. “C’mon, Joel. You’re close.” Humming as you met one of his shallow thrusts, you nodded. “I can feel it. Let me feel everything. Please.”

He grunted again, nodding. You let go of his leg and straightened back upright, increasing your pace as you moved up and down. It took him by surprise but Joel matched you thrust for thrust after only a few moments, his bearded chin pressed against your shoulder as his chest rose and fell, each motion a mirror of your own. “Oh, shit.” He swore, hips bucking upward twice in quick succession, surprising you and forcing you all the way down, your oversensitive skin grinding against his base. “Oh, shit, I…”

The man’s nails dug into your skin, and you were almost certain that you’d have visible marks once he let go - but you didn’t care. “That’s it.” Speaking quietly into his ear, you nodded, your cheek pressed to his. “Right there, Joel. Give me everything. Give it all, I want -”

He came with a lurch of his body, the water splashing as his knee broke the surface when it jerked upward.

Even though the water was already warm, you felt him filling you, the man’s hips bucking in short, quick bursts and he emptied himself inside of your body. He spoke while he did it, the words mostly unintelligible, though you caught a few as you tried to focus on anything but your heart pounding in your ears and how harsh your breathing was.

“Nobody else.” He shuddered the words out, still holding you tightly. “Nobody else has ever -”

“Made you come in a natural hot spring? Yeah, I can say the same.” You interrupted, needing to break the tension.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to hear him say things like that to you - because you’d waited your entire adult life for someone to love you enough to mean it. It wasn’t even that it was the wrong place for it. The wide open expanse of Wyoming’s sprawling landscape provided the perfect backdrop for a man like Joel to bare his soul. But if he keeps talking like that, we’ll get carried away, and it’ll get dark, and …

Tugging on his hair, you eased his head upright, waiting to see what the look in his eyes was before you decided what to do next. “That too.” He was gawking at you, the day’s lay rays of sun turning his irises a warm brown. “But -” Oh, Joel.

“Yeah.” Nodding, you leaned in. “I know. Nobody.” That kiss started slow, building as he softened inside of you. The steam from the spring curled around you while Joel pulled you even closer, wrapping both of you in a warm blanket that helped to mask the chill of the air. I wish we could stay right here.

You were chest to chest, no space between your bodies, and as he moved to deepen the kiss, you let him. The last one. Then we have to go back. But he prolonged it, pulling away enough to take in a break and then he kissed you again, your fingers relaxing in the damp strands of his hair as his touch turned less possessive and more reverent, the way things so often did between you.

“We have to go back.” He finally broke away, his thinly-veiled disappointment not at all a surprise to you. “It’s gonna be dark soon, and it’ll get real cold.” Wordlessly, you backed away, knees dragging over the tiny stones as you eased off of him. “There’s an extra blanket in my bag. Not real thick, but it’ll dry us off.”

Shivering as you rose from the water to stand upright, you appreciated his thoughtfulness. Brushing the pebbles and silt from the skin of your legs, you turned for his bag, knowing full well that Joel was staring at your almost-nude form. Let him. Because I’m gonna stare at him, too.

Removing your underwear so that it didn’t soak your jeans, you dried off as quickly as possible, pulling your layers back on as Joel began splashing in the water behind you. “What a view.” He stepped behind you, resting his chin on your shoulder even though he kept his wet body away from your mostly dry one. “And I ain’t talkin’ about the Rockies.” It made you warm all over, but before you could turn around and tell him, he was gone, the man hissing as he stepped on a large rock. “That’s what I fuckin’ get, hmm?”

You laughed despite yourself, turning and handing him the blanket, though you were sure to get an eyeful before he started drying his skin. “I agree with you on the view.” Zipping your coat, you finally looked up, meeting his eyes. “It’s excellent out here.”

He grumbled but you saw the red rising in his cheeks as he pulled his underwear off, too. The man let it drop onto the rocks next to yours, turning his attention to his legs. “You’re fulla shit.” It still stunned you sometimes, just how far Joel had come in the years he’d spent in Jackson. If anyone had told you that the man you’d met for the first time at Tommy and Maria’s dinner table that refused to speak to you for most of the night would have turned into the man standing before you, you would have called them a liar. But I’d be the liar. Because he’s…

Joel bent to pull his jeans on, the faded denim sliding up and over his muscular legs, and you paused again, tongue poking out between your lips. Fuck. He’s so… “You definitely didn’t grow up in Texas.” Raising a brow, he ran one hand through his hair, slicking it back. “Because apparently no one ever told you it ain’t polite to stare.”

“You had no problem looking at me a couple minutes ago.” It’s not even a question. One hand on your hip, you shook your head. “So deal with it.”

Joel only laughed in return, propping his feet up one by one on a small boulder to lace up his boots, and you followed suit. “It took us what, an hour to get here?” You nodded, zipping your wet clothes into a smaller bag before stuffing it into your pack. “Let’s beat that going back.”

“Fine by me.” You stepped past him, bending over and reaching one hand back into the water. He didn’t question you, but you felt his eyes on you as you thumbed through the rocks on the bottom of the pool, finding two - a smooth black stone threaded with silver and one that you were almost positive was jade - and then slipping them into the front zip pocket of your bag.

“Since when are you a rock collector?” Joel finally spoke a few minutes later as the two of you made your way back toward the road. “And what’re you gonna do with ‘em?”

“I’m not. Usually, anyway.” You fell into step side by side, eyes sweeping the land in front of you. “Today’s special.” He hummed in agreement but didn’t press the issue - so you continued. “But you’d be surprised at what you can find in the water around here. Tommy actually found a giant diamond a couple years after he got here while he was out on patrol while they were watering the horses, and couldn’t get back fast enough to give it to Maria.”

Joel laughed, briefly turning his head to look at you. “Sounds like Tommy, alright.”

“They’re all worthless now, and there’s so much damn jewelry in the stores that you can have pretty much whatever you want, but … it’s still fun.” You scanned the horizon, staying on high alert thanks to the adrenaline still rushing through your body. “The kids pan in Flat Creek sometimes, but that’s mostly just rocks. I guess … I don’t know, Joel. I just wanted to remember today.”

He didn’t respond right away, the two of you continuing back toward the horses and the rest stop - but when Joel finally spoke, his tone of voice was matter of fact. “We’ll put ‘em on the shelf in the hallway, with all my carvings? If you want.”

We’ll see them every time we come in or leave. “Yeah, Joel.” You nudged him with your arm, unwilling to take your hands out of your pockets. “Sounds good.”

—

Later that night, the two of you were tucked next to each other on the mattress, a small fire burning a few feet away. He’d blocked both doors from the inside, and the creaky building was almost cozy. Especially with him right there.

He’d made good on his promise as soon as he was satisfied with the evening lockdown and the two of you had eaten. Joel pressed your naked body into the thin bedding, the angle - as he’d said it would be - a good one.

As the flames flickered, you stared up at the ceiling. “Joel?” He hummed from beside you, turning his head. “I think you should go to the dance. Ellie’s going to be there, and even if the two of you don’t talk, you’ll still be able to see her having a good time.” He didn’t say anything right away, and for a few seconds, you thought you’d overstepped. But he should go. He should know. “She actually asked about you the other day.”

“What? Why didn’t you day something?” He rolled to face you, brows knit together. “What did she -” I didn’t want to get your hopes up.

“She asked if you were alright. Said you seem off lately, and that Tommy told her to get her shit together instead of… this.” You reached over, tracing over the scar on his nose. “I told her you were OK and reminded her that I don’t want to be the middleman forever.” Giving him a quick smile, you closed your eyes. “She looked a little guilty, so I dropped it. I wish the two of you were talking, but it’s … it’s not my decision when she -”

“It’s not. It’s hers. Thank you for tellin’ me.” He reached over, pulling you closer. “Even if she’s not talkin’ to me, I’m glad she’s got you.” You were, too. The circle of people that knew her secret - and Joel’s part in keeping it and keeping her alive was limited to five in Jackson. And since she’s not talking to Joel right now, there’s only three people she can trust. “I’m glad she didn’t push you away becausea you an’ me.”

“I wouldn’t have let her.” You wrinkled your nose. “I know she’s stubborn, but … after spending a year on the road with you and living with you for two more, I’d be surprised if she wasn’t.” He laughed at that and the corners of his eyes crinkled as the sound filled the room, warming it up almost more than the fire. “She’s got a limit, though, Joel. And I think she’s getting close. So you should be ready, just in case she -”

“I’ve been ready.” He stopped laughing, taking and holding a deep breath. “Been ready since the day we got back from Salt Lake for the second time, if I’m bein’ honest.” You knew that he was serious, but you also knew how much he loved the girl. And that’s why he’s been so patient about this even though it’s killing him.

Joel didn’t say anything else and neither did you, the sound of crackling logs and quiet whinnying from the horses creating the perfect background noise. You wondered what he was thinking - if his thoughts were about Ellie or Tommy, if they were focused on you, or on the fact that your patrol had been the second one in two months to turn up no sign of anyone, despite the distress calls. Maybe a little bit of everything.

You weren’t taking turns sleeping that night. Joel had deemed it safe enough for both of you to rest at the same time - and so you let yourself doze, your head drooping forward to rest against the broad expanse of his chest. He smelled like the outdoors - the mountain air set deep into the material of his jacket, and that made you even sleepier - but Joel’s voice brought you back to full consciousness, the man sighing out your name.

You opened your eyes so see his face inches from yours on the balled up material you were using as pillows. He looks … nervous. “Yeah, Joel?”

“I haven’t done this in a while, so forgive me if I’m a little rusty, but …” His hand moved from your side up, Joel’s warm fingers trailing over the skin of your throat before he ran his knuckles gently over your cheek, the firelight flickering deep in his eyes. “Can I interest you in bein’ my date to the Spring dance?”

—

tag list coming soon!

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